


The Destiny that Burns the Most

by Tanagariel



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/F, propunk - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-04
Updated: 2014-07-11
Packaged: 2018-02-03 10:04:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1740671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tanagariel/pseuds/Tanagariel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rachel Duncan went to San Francisco with one purpose in mind, to uncover the real culprit regarding her parents tragic “accident”. In order to do this she destroyed the life of a fellow classmate, Cosima Niehaus who had an affair with her Biology teacher, Delphine Cormier. Out of guilt and to her own benefit she brought Ms. Cormier to convert her into her number one asset in the corporation. However she never expected to find someone who would make her insides burn in San Francisco. Leather Girl. Now that she's back home she will do whatever it takes to find the culprit of her misery and bath in her enemies blood.</p><p>Sarah Manning thought that she could leave behind her past, her wasted youth only brought painful memories, a past that she worked hard to leave behind. Nonetheless when she returns to London with her twin to start again destiny brings into her path that Posh Bitch that makes her blood boil.</p><p>Now in a game of cat and mouse during the years will test both women to the max, a secret that might ruin everything for Sarah and the ice princess that had everything and nothing at all, Destiny will be cruel and only finding each other, they might find the absolution they both need, if they don't burn first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Wait, this title sounds pretty a familiar, isn't it?? Well it should because this is a spin-off of The Thorn that Hurts the Most to celebrate me reaching 1k followers. I am in love with Ray Ray so it was obvs that I was going to continue her story. Now the thing is that this fic will go parallel with Falling Petals Budding Love, which means that the timeline used in this fic will be the same for both stories, and events unfolding in Falling Petals will be occuring here as well, both stories affecting one another, imagine that this fic is a bridge between Thorns and Falling Petals. Still, it's not mandatory to read if you are just interested in FPBD, I still believe its a good read tho.

After traveling for hours Rachel was finally glad to be back home, she was back in the old estate that the Duncan’s owned in the city of Cambridge. Delphine Cormier was with her as well as Daniel Rosen, her right hand. After years of wondering, of asking questions she was finally close to catch the bastard who killed her parents, that was all that mattered to her.  
“Well Ms. Cormier here we depart, Daniel will take you to the University so you can get acquainted with the authorities. I know you will do just fine. The Dyad Institute can’t wait to welcome such a brilliant mind like yours Ms. Cormier” Rachel handed Delphine several documents.  
“Thank you Rachel.” Delphine accepted the documents and put them in her handbag.  
“And don’t worry about Cosima, she is been monitored very closely. After all, the Dyad Institute recruits only the very best, which I don’t doubt she will be.” She gave a quick smile to Delphine, who nodded in response.

While Daniel took Ms. Cormier to her new place, Rachel went to her office and turned on her laptop. She inserted the flash drive and started to read the documents that Cosima provided about the accident years ago.  
According to the information there were two witnesses who had a visual of the accident and the transit cameras. Rachel took a deep breath before clicking the footage caught by the camera. Her parents just left the charity fundraiser they assisted that dreadful night in London, the driver was driving a bit too fast as she could see on the footage, right on the left side of the screen a group of punks could be appreciated. Right when the car took the corner to head for the intersection one of the punks pushed a girl to the street, the girl was on the street laughing trying to get up when the car appeared, the driver pushed the brakes but he was too fast, he maneuvered the car and ended crashing a light post, the car lighted instantly.  
She pressed now slow motion, the video was crappy quality, what was very clear was the drunken state of that punk, if only she moved away from the street faster, but no, she was too gone for fast reflexes.  
Rachel closed the file and read the police report, one witness who was crossing up the street confirmed that the driver was over the speed limit; he saw how the car ignited in flames and described a bunch of kids running away.  
Coward  
The other witness was closer to the punks, but again the speed limit was the only issue the police focused. However Rachel was the only one who saw that if it wasn’t for that stupid girl on the street the vehicle might have gone through without a hitch. She closed the file and looked for the info that Cosima gathered and with that she build a profile of the culprit. That’s why she only could trust Cosima Niehaus to do this job, that girl was very clever. The video was pretty dark so it was hard to really get a more detailed description, however Cosima made an interesting profile of the subject.  
Female around 15 years old, probably rebellious orphan with trust issues. Leader of the pack, determined and protective of the ones she considers her own. Might have police record related to drug and/or thievery.  
Rachel clicked another file in which Cosima added more video files that captured the punks walking a block before the accident. Rachel clicked the file and watched. The video was blurry but you could distinguish two girls and two boys, they were having so much fun laughing and fooling around. Rachel didn’t understand what was to be around people like that, having fun and doing stupid. She was who she was, a Duncan, and god forbid a Duncan ended doing stupid in front of the rest of the world.  
According to Cosima’s analysis and illegal database search results she had a list of 35 names that as minors had charges and might have the physical appearance of the girl in the video. Rachel printed a copy of the list. Once Daniel came back she was going to task him to locate this people. She still had other things to do besides hunting this bitch, but oh when she found her she was going to make sure that she suffered really slowly until she begged for mercy. She couldn’t wait to put her hands on that punk and bath on her blood.  
______  
After finally getting back to London with her sister, everything seemed to be back on track. She was drug and alcohol free after three years of being a junky and she was working hard to rebuild her life and be someone worth of the love and patience her foster mother had for her. She found job as a waitress in a very nice restaurant where lots of posh people came, she just had to serve them and that was it. The pay was at least good enough to take some money home.  
The clientele came in and out of the restaurant in their fancy suits, of course she had to deal with some dirty old men checking her ass but she could manage that, she could deal with whatever destiny shoved at her or so she thought.

She was fighting really hard to leave the past behind her once and for all, Helena had gone to the US to live with a foster family after many incidents in the orphanage, but she escaped where she was relocated and after trying hard to find her she got news of her that she was living in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago, so that’s when she decided to fly all the way to the US to get her twin back. She had to acknowledge that San Francisco was a wonderful city, open and beautiful to live, no wonder Helena had so much fun selling drugs, she even made a friend, Cosima, the dreadlock girl who seemed rather nice, except for the fact that she met that posh bitch. She never felt so much repulsion for someone in her life, that girl was the epitome of trouble. All the blazer and suitcase didn’t erase the feeling of wrongness that posh bitch exuded, not the millions she probably had in her bank account could delete that sense of danger. But that was in the past, she was back in London trying to survive as she always did.

 

A couple of weeks later the staff was hired to cater at an important corporate event, so everybody was stressed out, particularly the manager who was putting more pressure into the waiters to do everything perfect.  
“It is highly important that you remain in your positions once the vent starts, each one of you will be in charge of a zone. In the upper floor I want Johnson, Adams and Covington. Bar area Harmon, Jones, Keane and Manning. The rest of you stay in your posts ready to attend the tables. Is it clear?” The manager waited the nodding response of his staff and then walked away to continue organizing the event.  
“Shit I don’t get why he’s so stressed, it’s like any other event, yeah?” Sarah put her things inside her bag before she left for the day.  
“Oh no, it’s not just an event, this people got tons of money, the Dyad Institute holds this events and they only hire the best.” Her co-worker explained.  
“All righ’ we’ll have to see then, see you tomorrow.” Sarah grabbed her backpack and slung it on her shoulder. She walked to back of the restaurant walking through the kitchen until she reached the staff door and then she got out. It was pretty chilly so she put her hoodie on. She walked to the metro station to go back home.  
When she finally reached her place she just wanted to lay down and sleep, tomorrow she was going to have a long night. She used the key to open the door to her flat, she entered and as soon as she closed, Helena came to welcome her.  
“Sestra you are back.”  
“Hey meathead, I brought you some donuts.” Sarah handed her twin the box of sweets, she was so happy that she didn’t wait to open the box and eat.  
“Oi! you haven’t eat dinner.” Mrs. S her foster mother scolded her twin.  
“Yeah Helena wait after dinner.” Sarah put her bag on the floor and walked towards the table. Mrs. S put her dish on the table and sat to eat. “How was work today chicken?”  
Sarah bit her meat, chewed and then answered “Slow, but tomorrow I have an event so I’ll be coming late.”  
“Sounds fancy.” Mrs. S passed the salt to Sarah.  
“Yeah, some suits are having a big party tomorrow.” Sarah keep cutting her food absentmindedly, she put another piece in her mouth. “It’s gonna be okay S, don’t worry yeah?” She reassured her foster mother.  
“I know love, just be careful when you come back.”

The next day Sarah woke up late, she had the afternoon free to be able to prepare for the night event. She headed to the shower quickly, fixed her hair and picked up her uniform, she dressed casually with jeans and a flannel shirt, on top of it she put on her jacket and boots on her feet, she was changing at the event to avoid dirtying her uniform. She put her formal shoes inside her bag and her uniform was inside in a suit protector bag. She said goodbye to Mrs. S and went to the address given by her boss.  
The Dyad Institute in London was located in a pretty fancy building, Sarah showed her ID to the security guy at the entrance to let her through so she could reach the catering area.  
“Oi Oi, Bobby how’s it going?” Sarah went to the dressing room and started to change.  
“The usual, that prick is stressing me the fuck out. I just want to be done with this.” Bobby combed her hair in front of the mirror. Sarah got out of the dressing room and checked her black pants and her black vest on top of her white shirt, she put on her name tag on the left side of her vest Sarah read the tag. Then she proceeded to apply makeup, dark shadows surrounding her eyes accompanied by eyeliner. Lipstick and a bit of blush on her cheeks and last arranged her hair, she had to put on a ponytail since it was a rule for this events, only the braids she had on the right side of her scalp were left dangling.  
She pulled her vest once to make sure she looked decent; once she was ready she went to her boss to report for duty. “All right Manning here you go, make sure to keep your mouth shut, this is important business.”  
“Yeah boss, gotcha.” However if Sarah felt the need to, let’s say, speak her mind to one of those rich assholes she was going to do it. When Sarah got out to her area she saw that indeed this people had plenty of money, all the light and music, plus all the staff they hired. The suits and dresses of the guests were probably from designers, the limo’s dropping passengers one after another was another sign of the amount of people invited to this massive event. Sarah was kind of impressed, how would it be to have everything at the reach of your fingers?  
“Manning! Get moving and start dispensing beverages.” Her boss called her attention. She muttered under her breath and stopped daydreaming about the life she was never going to have.  
The night was moving slowly, Sarah offered all kinds of alcoholic beverages to investors, foreigners and businessmen. She had no idea how many drinks she had delivered already. But the night was still a long way to be over.  
______  
“Thank you for coming Mr. Reynolds, as I already said our patents will be ready, no need to worry about any delays.” Rachel shook the hand of the man in front of her and waited until Daniel escorted him out of the office.  
These parties were mostly to attract investors and of course close a couple of deals under the table, so she left her home to assist the London party. The Dyad Institute was expanding pretty fast and she was requested to deal with all corporate business more regularly. She was going to travel more often as well. Rachel went to the bathroom to refresh herself before going downstairs to the main floor and let people greet her.

She turned the lights on, her reflection in the mirror showing her perfect asymmetrical bob and hazel eyes staring back at her, she put her hand on the mirror tracing her own reflection and when she closed her eyes, she could see her, the brunette, all leather from head to toe, dangerous eyes staring back at her, defiance, anger and something else, but it made her burn on the insides. She opened her eyes and instinctively touched her left cheek. Yes, she could still fill the burn of that slap.  
“Rachel?” Daniel interrupted her memory lane trip.  
“Yes Daniel?” Rachel fixed her suit and added more lipstick to her already red lips.  
“They are waiting for you.”  
“Good. By the way Daniel, any news regarding the list I gave you?” Rachel looked at Daniel, she wanted so badly to find this punk of hers, even though it had been only a couple of weeks since she arrived.  
“I am following some trails Rachel, don’t worry I will find this girl.” Daniel assured her. She knew she could trust him to find her; he would do anything she asked of him.  
“I don’t care how you do it, bring her to me.” Yes, his methods might be sometimes violent but she could count that he was going to get that bitch, and when he did she was going to make sure to make her pay.

Rachel walked into the party like the queen she was, everybody she crossed paths greeted her. For someone so young she had already gained the respect of many men in the ruthless corporate world. She could only go higher from here. She took a seat near the bar, which was at a strategically position near the stage, better to numb the senses of the businessmen with alcohol while they listened to a bunch of scientists speaking scientific jargon. As soon as she took her seat the announcer presented several doctors, all of them talking about the progress in their respective research fields. Rachel had to admit that even she found the science a bit boring. “Daniel, please get me something to drink.” Daniel stood up from the table and walked towards one of the nearest waiters.  
“Could you bring wine to that table?” Daniel asked the brunette waitress who was standing closer to them. He frowned a bit thinking where he had seen that face before, but he dismissed it immediately.  
“Yeah, no problem.” The brunette said, who gave him an apprehensive look. Daniel went back to his seat right beside Rachel. “I asked for wine.” Daniel commented. “Great choice.” Rachel listened the scientific speech about the development of biotechnology and the stem cell production line that the Dyad was starting when-  
“Oi! You ask for wine, yeah?”  
That deep voice sent sparks to the pit of her stomach, she turned around slowly to look to whoever was delivering the wine.  
“Bloody hell!” The girl with hazel eyes that burned with anger in San Francisco was staring back at her, this was not a dream, and she was really here. The girl lost the balance of the tray she was holding in her hand and the glass broke on the floor spilling its contents and splattering Rachel with wine.  
“Shit. I uh, shit.” She quickly kneeled to pick up the broken shards and clean the mess she just did.  
“God damn it, get the hell away you idiot.” Daniel stood up to pull Sarah away but Rachel turned her body slightly in the chair to be in the line of sight of leather girl “I think you’re forgetting this.” Rachel showed her the stained shoes to the girl knelt in front of her. Leather girl raised her eyes to look at her, then at her shoes and then back at her. Rachel smirked. What are you going to do? Clean or bolt? Leather girl stood up after cleaning everything but her shoes. “My apologies.” Leather girl looked straight into her eyes, setting her on fire, the hate was there, oh and how she liked that.  
Leather girl turned around and walked back to the staff doors.  
______  
“What the hell Manning? What was that ruckus out there, are you insane?” Her boss scolded her and he didn’t shut up.  
“I apologized to her.” Sarah retorted, she was pacing from one side to the other, like a lion in a cage.  
“Now I have to go fix your mess.” Her boss walked out of the staff room to talk with that bitch. How in the world she ended in the same place that posh bitch? This had to be a joke of destiny. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down.  
This is not a big deal, once this is over you won’t see that arrogant narcissistic bitch.  
“Manning!” her boss appeared suddenly.  
“Yeah?” Sarah entangled her fingers through her hair before tying her hair again.  
“The lady is expecting her glass of wine.”  
“Wha’? Are you joking?” She was not expecting this.  
“She says that it has to be you, so move your arse and do it well or you are going to be in deep trouble Manning.” Her boss was getting on her nerves now.  
“Boss, relax okay? I got this.” That bitch was challenging her and no way in hell she was going to bow down to that ice princess.

Sarah walked towards the bar, took her tray and asked for the wine, while she waited she looked sideways towards the table were posh bitch was waiting and she was staring at her. Sarah gulped, the way that girl looked at her made her feel weird, why? She had no clue.  
“There you go.” Bobby gave her the wine. Sarah put the glass over her tray and walked towards robot bitch.  
“Here you go miss, sorry for the inconvenience.” Sarah bitted her tongue before she said something really stupid. The girl took a sip from the glass and right before Sarah left that bitch spilled it on her.  
“Oops, so sorry.” She said in a mocking voice, she looked at her tag and added “Sarah.”  
Sarah closed her fists pretty hard, she was going to kick the living shite out of that ice princess but her bodyguard or whatever was already blocking her path.  
“Bitch.” Sarah spat the shoe of her nanny/bodyguard and went back to the staff room. There she removed the wet vest, her white shirt was stained with the wine, she was a complete mess now because that bitch was a fucking lunatic who needed a good slap.  
Sarah removed her dirty clothes and changed, she was done with this shit. She walked towards Bobby and told her that she felt sick so she went back home. Sarah put on her hoodie and walked towards the exit but not without taking a last glimpse to that fucker, and there she was, staring back at her, her hazel eyes digging holes in her skull. Sarah moved on and went back home after a terrible long night.

Once at home, she took a quick shower to wash all the damn wine sticking to her skin, when she was done she looked herself at the mirror to comb her long hair but all she could see was that stupid posh bitch looking at her like she was her new toy, something that she could use for her entertainment and then discard, or at least that’s how she felt. She finished combing her hair, put on her black undies and her London Calling Tee. She went to bed, yet she was restless, Posh Bitch was flooding her mind. She hated that girl; she had never ever wanted to punch someone in the face as that egocentric girl and yet there was something that made her vibrate on the inside, that girl ignited a fire inside of her, a fire that made her want to smack that stupid ass posh and teach her a lesson. Destiny had to be laughing its arse now, mocking her bad luck. How it was possible that the same asshole that she met in San Francisco was now in London? She really hoped that Posh Bitch was just stopping by for the party and disappeared forever, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.  
______  
However, while Sarah Manning slept Rachel Duncan thought about her as well recalling her name, Sarah, she was leather girl no more. It was like she was obsessed with her since the day she slapped her in the face, no, it was like she was branded by her, by Sarah. And oh god it hurt so good. Her bubblegum breath was infectious and her stare was like a volcano about to erupt, she knew Sarah wanted to beat her to a pulp, and she loved to be the one causing the anger. Destiny, she didn’t believe in it, yet there was something that she was pretty sure, Sarah was back in her path and she was going to consume her with her hellish anger and Rachel couldn’t wait to be burnt by her.  
By the destiny that burns the most.


	2. Chapter 2

“Glad to hear you have adapted well to the classes Ms. Cormier.” Rachel sipped her tea while reading in her iPad. “Oh but of course Ms. Cormier, I can’t wait to take you to our laboratories, however I am in London right now. Destiny, it seems, wants me here, but as soon as I am done with this I will take you to our facilities.” Rachel concluded her conversation and kept reading the news, when Daniel brought more tea she had to ask about how her request was going.

“Any news Daniel?”

“So far nothing, I still have several names to go by. I will get her Rachel, trust me.”

“Before you continue I need you to find who was hired to cater the party last night.” Rachel couldn’t sleep thinking about leather girl, Sarah. She had never saw eyes like those burn with fire, it was so strange to get this reaction from someone whom she barely knew. People tended to keep her distance from her, people respected her but that girl, she defied her. Daniel came a couple of minutes later and in a piece of paper offered the information.

“This restaurant is pretty close, yes?”

“Indeed, do you want me to make a reservation?”

“Yes do that.” Rachel continued reading her news, she couldn’t wait to see that bitch again.

______

Sarah woke up in a bad mood, Posh Bitch has ruined her work night and now she probably was going to get a lecture from her boss.

She got ready to work, prepped her bag and went to grab something to eat before going to work.

“Bad night love?” Mrs. S put the dishes over the kitchen table.

“It wasn’t that bad, it’s just that certain people with money think they can do whatever the hell they want.” Sarah took a toast with jam and drank her tea.

“I can help you sestra, do you need me to get rid of someone?.” Helena said while biting her bread.

“No meathead, just eat your bread and jello.” Sarah finished quickly her meal, brushed her teeth and went to work.

 

She arrived just in time for her shift, she changed into her uniform and got ready to work, but first, her boss called her as she expected.

“Manning, what on earth was that mess last night? First thing I say and you cause a lot of trouble to one guest.” her boss was scolding her for several minutes, she just tapped her boot on the floor waiting until the man finished.

“Got it?”

“Yeah, got it boss.” Sarah got out of the office and went back to the locker room to finish fixing her uniform. Once she was all set she went to the restaurant and started to serve tables. The day started slow but as the hours passed more clients came to drink and/or eat. After all, only people with lots of money came to this kind of place. Usually businessmen came to eat here to have meetings or just have a meal with their friends.

Sarah went back to the kitchen to pick the order of her table, “Oi! is 52 ready?”

“There you go, 52 is complete.” The chef said.

Sarah put her dishes on her tray and walked back to the main area; she delivered her dishes successfully and moved to the next table.

“Oi Bobby two Guinness.” Sarah was at the bar picking up another order when, “Manning go to the VIP area.”

“I’m on the main floor, VIP is Russell’s” She picked the two glasses and went to the table that ordered the beers. She returned with the manager to see what was going on now since the man was making her signs to get closer to talk, Sarah delivered her next order and then she went back to see what the manager wanted. “I’m supposed to be here, those are Russell’s tables, yeah?”

“Russell can work your tables, I need you to go now, hurry up Manning.”

“What? why?” Sarah was a bit frustrated, if this was a punishment for her behavior last night sending her to VIP was a bad idea.

“Just move Manning!”

 

Sarah went up the stairs to the private area, the mobsters, drug lords or politicians usually were the ones that reserved this zone. She didn’t like being here one bit. She knocked the door and got into the private room, there was a lady who was giving her back to her, staring out through the floor to ceiling window. Sarah approached slowly and greeted the client.

“Good evening ma’am what can I do for you?” Sarah awaited the woman’s response. The woman turned to face Sarah, erasing her smile.

“Hello, it was about time you came.” The blonde took her seat, crossing her legs and resting her hands over the table.

“Are you serious? You?” Sarah didn’t know if this was a joke or a test or what the fuck was going on but that girl made last night a pain in the arse, not to mention all their previous encounters which went south pretty fast.

“Where is your lap dog?” Sarah asked right away, she was not going to play her game.

She chuckled “I’m just hungry. Where is the menu?” The girl looked at her like nothing happened the night before, her cold stare examining her like a wolf stares a rabbit before attacking. Sarah was suspicious, it didn’t make any sense that this bitch came to the same place she worked and that she had to attend the VIP area precisely today; she took the menu and handed it to her. She waited until the annoying girl read it.

“What do you recommend, Sarah?” She purred her name or so Sarah thought.

“The salad might be of your liking miss.” Sarah felt pretty uncomfortable with this girl, there was something about the way she talked, and particularly the way she looked at her, only her eyes moving, her chin set in position never lifting it more than necessary, like she was staring at a piece of shit, someone below her.

“What would you choose to eat, Sarah?” She raised her eyes from the menu and looked at her again, right into the depths of her eyes.

“The glazed pork ribs with shichimi togarashi, miss.”

“Hmmm...very well, that for me and red wine, please.” The arrogant bitch gave her back the menu and fixed her attention in her iPad, Sarah went down to the kitchen to put the order and went to the locker room to take a deep breath, she didn’t notice how tense she was up there with that girl until now, all her self-preservation senses tingling.

Once she had her composure back, Sarah walked out of the locker room and back into the bar, she ordered the glass of wine and went upstairs passing through several doors until she reached where Posh Bitch was waiting. Sarah left the glass of wine and finished setting the table.

“Are you expecting anyone else miss?” Sarah took a closer look at the girl. Expensive suit, silver nail polish, black high heels, gold bracelets, all this girl wore was just a symbol of her wealth and power.

“No, not today. Unless of course, you prefer to join me Sarah.” She took a sip of her wine, so delicate and elegant, all her movements were precise, not a second wasted.

“Sorry miss I’m pretty busy.” She turned around and went downstairs, moving through the tables on the lower floor until she reached the kitchen, she picked the ribs and went back to where that posh bitch was.

“Here you go miss.” Sarah put the dish right in front of the girl, she took a couple of steps back and waited to see if she wanted anything else.

The girl cut a small piece of the pork and put the fork in her mouth, she chewed slowly, savoring the food. “This is very good. Now before you go, where is your crazy sister, the one with the low-tide smelly jacket?”

“That is none of your business.” Sarah tensed again, her posture defensive.

“You are a mystery I would like to unravel Sarah Manning; you have no idea who I am, don’t you?”

“I could care less who you are; posh bitch is enough for me, princess.” That girl did her homework, she knew who she was and where she worked, probably even her address by the way she asked about Helena. This girl was dangerous.

The blonde gave a faint smile, “You will know soon enough and when you do you will regret touching me in San Francisco.”

“Oh no miss, I didn’t touch you, I slapped you and if you mess with me or my family I will do more than that.” Sarah did not back down, she was not giving the satisfaction to that bitch to humiliate her, much less threaten her.

“Good.” She kept eating her meal and that was it, the end of the exchange of words between them. Sarah went back to the lower floor and headed to speak with the manager, she needed to know why she was stuck with that posh bitch.

“Why am I in the VIP area? Why do I have to serve that girl?” Sarah made sure to show her discontent.

“You were requested Manning, nothing to do about it, now get out of here, this client seems pretty important so go and do your best.” The manager patted her on the back and sent her back to the horror to serve Posh Bitch. Sarah sighed, she had no more option.

 

Sarah returned to the VIP area to retrieve the dish of Posh Bitch; when she brought the check the girl took out several bills from her purse, too many bills.

“Miss, your bill is covered already no need to leave the extra cash.”

“You’re going to need it Sarah Manning, who knows when you will find employment again.” The girl stood up, walked to the exit but right before she left she faced Sarah, “I’ve only just begun” and left.

Sarah was left in a state of uncertainty, was she really going to make her get fired? Sarah didn’t have to wait long. Right when she finish her shift her boss called her.

“Are you serious, fired? I apologized to that damn girl. You have to be kidding.” Sarah was pissed and with reason, who the fuck was this bitch who could kick her out of her job with just the snap of her fingers?.

“Sorry Manning, but the client had her reasons and your behavior was unacceptable.”

“That is bullshit and you know it, who the hell is that bitch for fuck’s sake?” Sarah leaned on the desk her fists closed, ready to kick some things on her way out.

“You have no clue? That girl you messed up with is one of the youngest and richest entrepreneurs in England; she is the CEO of some scientific company and did I say incredibly rich?”

 

 

“Bloody hell, whatever.” Sarah took her check and went to pick up her things from her locker, once she was done she went out back in the cold street. She put on her headphones and blasted Rock the Casbah by one of her fave bands The Clash. She walked a couple of blocks before she noticed that there was a car following her, a black Mercedes, by the looks of it, the c350 coupé. In her dark days she robbed a car like that with the help of that asshole of Vic.

She yanked her earphones and stopped, the car came to a halt and of course, Posh Bitch came out.

“Bloody hell, are you fucking kidding me!?” Sarah went straight to the girl, but when the driver’s door opened and her lap dog came out Sarah stooped on her tracks. Nothing good to mess with that guy alone so she stood in front of that bitch.

“What do you want from me? Yeah I got kicked from work good job bitch, now what else do I have to expect?” Sarah wanted to strangle that psycho but she held her impulses and just tried to keep it cool. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Rachel Duncan.” The girl responded.

“Duncan?” Sarah frowned, she had heard the name, but where? She dismissed that tingling in the pit of her stomach, “look Rachel, I don’t know what else could you want from me, leave me alone, yeah?”

“Not yet Sarah Manning, until you heel you and yours will suffer. Here, call me.” Rachel gave a business card, got on the passenger seat and she went away.

“This bitch is a real psycho.“ She took a long glance at the business card, the name Duncan ringing bells but she couldn’t place it.

Sarah returned home but she wasn’t in the mood to let know Mrs. S that she got fired, all the hard work to start again went to hell because she crossed paths with the craziest psycho alive, Rachel Duncan. Sarah went to bed and tried to sleep.

 

August 2011

Sarah was laughing hysterically; she had drunk so many whiskeys she lost count until there was nothing else on the bottles she and her mates stole. They were smoking and laughing and talking stupid things. She was 16 years old, a girl being as rebel as one could be, the drugs and alcohol abuse was what marked this stage in her life.

“We got money for more beers.” Billy said after checking the wallet of the man they robbed a block away.

“Beers? nah mate, that is not fun.” The other girl, Maggie, giggled. Sarah just took a long drag of her cigarette and passed it to Vic.

“It’s pretty late, maybe we should just bunk in a nearby place.” Sarah was so damn dizzy, she started to laugh again.

“Oh you party pooper Sarah.” Maggie pushed Sarah on the street.

“Woah, bloody hell this is fucking hard you asshole.” Sarah started to laugh again, but when the car lights lit her face her laughter died, “Shite.” She closed her eyes; the last thing she heard was tires screeching and a crash.

“Shit, let’s get the fuck outta here.” Vic was pulling her up, Sarah opened her eyes, she was alive but the car was all in flames. “Fuck!” They all started to run as far away as possible. Sarah had no clue what the fuck just happened.

Her friends were laughing and enjoying the awesome adventure but Sarah was in shock, she almost died.

The next morning she took the newspaper and that’s when she saw the news of the terrible car crash that killed two renowned scientists; Susan and Ethan Duncan and their driver.

Duncan.

 

Sarah woke up all of a sudden, Duncan, the name ringing again in her mind, she quickly went to her phone and typed in the search engine box Rachel Duncan.

“Rachel Duncan, the youngest CEO of the Dyad Institute, pioneers in the development of biotechnology, blah blah blah.” Sarah kept scanning the text when she saw what she was looking for.

“Her tragic background after her parents tragic accident made her success the more compelling.” Sarah kept reading “orphan at the tender age of 16, the only daughter of Susan and Ethan Duncan…” Sarah dropped her phone, she felt ill, and a tremor ran on her skin.

“Oh my god, I killed Rachel Duncan’s parents.”


	3. Chapter 3

Sarah couldn’t sleep, she kept replaying in her mind over and over again what happened, she had been so stupid, such an idiot for being with Vic and friends. She had caused that accident and the people in the car died in a horrible way, she had run like a coward and she had been living with regret all this years. The only good thing that came after that shit is that she got clean and gave her best to be of worth.

And now she had to meet their daughter, an ice princess with enough money to live many lives. A real bitch that looked at her like she was a lowlife grifter, scum. She kept fidgeting with the business card in her hand. Did she know about what she did? Was this all about revenge? Sarah moved the card between her fingers, it was clear that she offended her, in a deeper level, since she was talking about what happened in San Francisco and not the party. She took offense very personal.

Sarah rolled on her bed, her head resting sideways over the pillow. She had no work to go now, but she wasn’t going to go running towards that bitch, she had her pride. The plan was to get up and go like she normally would and start sending her papers to get a job interview as fast as possible. That was the best she could do right now, she put the card away and headed to the shower, she ate her breakfast like every other day and went to look out for a job.

 

After several days without success Sarah had a stroke of luck and found job at a coffee shop. She started working right away serving pastries and coffee. She really hoped to get back to normal with her life, to push aside the unfortunate events that went down with Rachel Duncan and move on. The police had not come for her, she assumed this as a good sign, or maybe that girl was waiting the right moment to strike. Maybe Sarah simply had to apologize to her and said how truly sorry she was that she lost her parents because of her.

Whatever it was going on, she was glad that she didn’t have to see that ice princess again, the amount of anger that girl made her feel was tremendous; she had no clue why the mere presence of that bitch made her blood boil. The way she spoke with all her airs of superiority made her wish she could shove her against a wall and shake her up, maybe even slap her face again. No one lays hands of me she said; she was starting to believe it was 100% true. Her body language screamed porcelain doll in a glass box, she kept her distance, her words her only weapon. An ice princess in a castle too big for her, left to play alone. Did she have any friends at all? Other family members? Those were questions that surged in Sarah’s mind once in a while. The lack of emotion in her voice made her shiver, Rachel Duncan was cold and ruthless, situation she experienced in the flesh by making her get fired. Sarah slapped herself mentally and got back to serve pastries to the customers, she had better things to do than spend her day thinking of her.

______

Rachel was in her office back in Cambridge, she was working on her laptop as usual, but she would stop to look at her phone to check for any missed call from an unknown number. Even when the phone hadn’t rung for hours, she was desperate for her call, she wanted to hear her rough voice again. Who does that lowlife think she was? To snub her, Rachel Duncan; that bitch Sarah Manning needed to learn her place, and she was going to teach her.

“Excuse me Rachel.” Daniel interrupted her train of thought. She stopped typing and paid attention to her trusted servant.

“What is it Daniel? Her voice detached, but underneath there was anger.

“I found the last name on the list, Maggie Chen, she OD’d last year.” Daniel waited her boss’s reaction.

Rachel tightened her jaw, she curled her fingers over the keyboard, she stood up and walked to the floor to ceiling window, she needed to gather her thoughts. Her last hope was buried six feet under, what if that junkie was the one who killed her parents? She took a deep breath, what was she going to do now? She couldn’t storm Minneapolis to make that geek find more info for her; she already dirtied her hands too much in that mess between Cosima and Ms. Cormier. No, she had to find other distractions, Sarah Manning, yes she was going to release all her anger upon that ho.

“Find anything you can on Sarah Manning and find why on earth she hasn’t called. I expect that information in less than 24 hours Daniel, understand.” Rachel put her hand on the cold glass, and closed her eyes.

“Right away Rachel.” Daniel excused himself and went to do as told.

 

Rachel inhaled deeply, her fingers tracing the glass softly, she was relaxing again. She opened her eyes and sat back to work again on her laptop. Her phone rang and she answered too fast.

“Yes?” She noticed the bit of emotion in her voice before she heard the caller on the other side of the line.

“But of course Mr. Dementyev, eto budet moye udovol’stviye.” Rachel scribbled in a notepad before fixing the phone in a better position against her ear.

“I can’t wait either, see you then. Spasibo.” She closed the call, now she had to deal with Aleksandr Dementyev, CEO of GeneTech, her competition, and she had to crush her competition. The thing was that she needed certain information; the word was actually steal legal documentation he had in order to launch their own lines of synthetic sequences that the Russians were working on as well. Dyad had to get the release first or else they were going to waste a lot of money in that line, she couldn’t afford to lose money. She thought of ways of getting that info; murder, kidnapping, even sex with that grunt, but no one touched her, not even Dyad was worth that much. She had to find a way to get in and steal those damn files.

 

Sometimes it amazed her the things she had to do to be on top, she was just a teen, she was only 18 and she was a monster. She had to be a monster in order to get the respect other powerful men had for her, this life was tough; she took a glance out the window, her cage; which was what it was, a crystal palace where she had to fulfill her role and be the best. She was above everyone else, she was the only one she could trust, she was Rachel Duncan, and she was alone.

Morning came by; Rachel was reading the paper when Daniel left an envelope. She put the paper to a side and opened the manila envelope. She took out several pages that made her arch her brow.

“That’s all I could find, that girl is a chameleon, pretty sneaky.” Daniel went to attend other business while Rachel took the time to read word by word about the life of Sarah Manning. That girl was a mess, orphan moving from foster home to foster home, later in her teens thievery, petty fraud, drug possession, she probably had more charges under her belt, Sarah Manning the con artist, that girl was a train wreck. She saw the mug shot, a rebellious punk, defying everyone and everything. She loved her eyes, pissed off with the world and now with her. She kept looking the file, she found about her twin Helena who escaped a foster home in San Francisco. And noticed that there were not bad news in this year, Sarah Manning had changed for good. She was now working at a coffee shop. At that Rachel snorted, the reason why she hadn’t call was that she was safe again, but not for long.

“Daniel we are going back to London.” She finished her tea, save her computer file and went to get ready, it was time to hunt.

 

 

Daniel dropped her at the Coffee Shop, it was already dark and the number of clients was low at this time, the perfect moment she had to make her approach; she already had the info of the owner and what she had to do to get him on her side, she opened the door and her eyes scanned the area; there she was, her lioness, cleaning stuff behind the counter, she approached the cashier and the man kindly asked Rachel for her order.

“Welcome miss, may I have your name please and your order.”

“Sarah. Just tea for me, no, a caramel frapuccino please.” She paid and waited in one of the tables. She fixed her eyes on Sarah, who was busy dispatching the orders and preparing the next; the way she moved, it was beautiful. Rachel wished she could understand why she was so obsessed with that girl, she even ordered something she disliked in order to see her working on it, a tea was pretty simple to make but a frapuccino was a different thing.

“Sarah?” Sarah called, when Rachel walked and stood in front of the counter to retrieve her order, that smile of hers vanished.

“Are you bloody serious? Sarah?” Her eyes were burning in an instant.

“I like the name.” Rachel stated. “Why didn’t you call? Do I have to get you kicked out of this place as well?” Rachel took her order and walked to the exit. Rachel was amazed by the hurt in her voice, that was completely out of character.

“Wait!” Sarah got out behind the counter and came to a stop in front of Rachel, “Let’s talk, as soon as I’m done with my shift, in the park a block away? In an hour.” She got back to work.

Rachel couldn’t help but smirk, “A date it is.” She left with a real smile on her face, she had to savor her small victory.

_______

“G’ nigh’” Sarah hanged her apron and went to the back of the shop; she got out and walked to the park. She had to talk with Rachel, to explain her about what happened with the Duncan’s, she didn’t know what to say, she only was truly sorry, that was something that scarred her for life. She saw the ice princess, legs crossed, hands resting on her lap and her lap dog a couple of steps away of course.

“Oi! Let’s talk but can you unleash your dog for a sec?.” Sarah looked into the other man before approaching the ice princess.

“Daniel leave us, I’ll call when I’m done.” And the man disappeared like a ghost.

“Your wishes are his command I see.” Sarah sat on her side, her legs spread apart and her back hunching a bit against the bench

“I don’t know where to start.” Sarah was nervous; she had no clue how Posh Bitch was going to take the news of her parents’ accident.

“I know what you did.” Rachel turned to face Sarah “You had a terrible past that actually might come in handy.”

Sarah frowned, this was not what she was expecting, “wha’?”

“I know you have been a problematic young girl, thievery being one of your greatest talents.”

“Oh, so that’s what you want to talk about?” Rachel didn’t know she had to do with the death of her folks, if it was a relief or much worse, which one? she didn’t know.

“I have a proposition for you Sarah, work for me. I will pay you more than what you ever dreamed of.” Rachel batted her eyelashes in such a sultry way; it was hard to look somewhere else.

“Why do I have the feeling that this won’t be like any other job.” Sarah was now weary; this seemed pretty dangerous, almost like making a bargain with the devil.

She listened to Rachel, what she said was the most illegal shite she ever heard of, and now she knew this was a girl you don’t mess with.

“I left that life behind Rachel.” Sarah was not going back to that old life hell no.

“I understand, but you know I am not letting you go like that Sarah Manning. You will work for me sooner rather than later.” Rachel stood up and started to walk away. Sarah had to follow; she needed to understand what she really wanted from her.

“What do you want from me? You and me it’s a bad idea, we don’t get along and-“

“Hey babe, a little late for a night stroll huh.” Two men cut them in the park, it was pretty dark now and the zone was obviously isolated, not a good combination.

“Yeah, we can have so much fun princess.” The man approached Rachel trying to grope her, Sarah pushed the man before he laid a finger on Posh Bitch and then mayhem ensued.

 

Sarah ducked the punch of asshole number 1 and kicked him in the nuts, she then elbowed him on the face, asshole number 2 surprised Sarah with a punch on her ribs and then a head-butt, Sarah stumbled a bit but she kept pushing forward and punched the man until she heard a crack on his nose, then she slammed her fist again and again and again, her knuckles were a scarlet mess, dripping blood everywhere. The other man grabbed Sarah behind, but Sarah was fast, she sneaked under his arm and bent his arm at a weird angle, the screams of agony of the man amazing Rachel and after punching the asshole, she kicked him hard on his stomach, now the only thing that remained was silence.

The punk was completely out of breath, a combination of sweat and blood, Rachel was to the side marveled at the view of Sarah Manning, so wild and raw.

“You okay?” Sarah got close to the ice princess; she cupped her face and examined her making sure the girl was okay. She didn’t stop to think who was this person at all, she simply reacted and felt the need to keep her safe; on behalf of her parents she could do that. Be a friend or so she thought.

The need to atone for her sin ingrained in her mind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rachel + Windows + Sarah = smut-fest

Rachel had never been so excited, a wild woman bathed in blood and sweat was the hottest thing she ever saw in her short life. Sarah escorted her back to her hotel drenched in blood, knuckles busted up, nose, left cheek and right eyebrow bloody as hell, the least she could do was to offer the punk in gratitude aid, which she kindly accepted.

“Damn, nice view.” Sarah was clearly impressed, not anybody could pay this luxuries.

“Sit down and take those off.” Rachel commanded while she walked towards her night stand, leaving her purse over the table.

“Huh?” Sarah sat down but still kept looking weirdly at the other girl, not quite sure what to do.

“Take your clothes off.” She ordered, that’s the way things rolled here, Rachel spoke the rest obeyed.

“All righ’ don’t be such a bossy bitch, yeah? You might bark orders to that Daniel guy but not me princess.” Sarah was cocky as fuck, the grin on her face evidence of her rebelliousness. However she removed her leather jacket and bloody shirt, confident, just keeping her leather pants

and undergarments. Next, she removed her boots.

Rachel got a bit stunned, not even in her wildest dreams she expected to see Sarah Manning sporting a nice set of abs and wearing a black bra in her hotel room, at her mercy, so close to her reach. Rachel was staring, like really staring, she had to slap herself mentally; Rachel picked up the bloody clothes made a call and in a minute the hotel staff took the clothes to clean them, then Rachel went for the first aid kit.

 

Sarah stood up and started to pace around the room, checking stuff in general, enjoying the luxuries of the filthy rich when she found Rachel’s Ipod on her night table, she put on the earbuds and surprise surprise.

“What are you doing?” Rachel brought back the first aid box, however Sarah was smiling like a fool.

“Really? 90’s slow jams? I would have never guessed. Ooooooh this is hot.” Sarah was shuffling the playlist, but Rachel yanked her the earbuds and took away the Ipod from her grasp.

“Don’t touch my things, please.” Rachel was mad, but mostly she was embarrassed, not even Daniel knew that she listened R&B this girl was a huge problem, she didn't fear her, Sarah Manning stomp on that reputation she had built to be confident, powerful and always in control and yet, Sarah dance naked on top of it, she treated her like an equal. Rachel tried to calm down; she was not going to lose control, much less in front of this animal. She took the bottle of disinfectant and a small piece of gauze.

Sarah was laughing out loud now, “Relax Posh Bitch, your secret is safe. But damn, those are some sexy songs you got there. It would never have crossed my mind that you listened to those fuck me songs since you are so-BLOODY HELL!” Rachel put the gauze with disinfectant on her cheek’s wound; it burnt like hell. The opening from the gash bubbled by the effect of the hydrogen peroxide, and the blood was cleaned by the gauze.

“Hey at least you could have warned me.” Sarah complained stepping away from Rachel’s hands.

“Come here.” Rachel pulled Sarah from her jeans waistband and now they were inches apart. Rachel towered a bit over Sarah since she was still wearing her stilettos, she put another gauze on her busted eyebrow, but Sarah didn’t even flinch, being all brave and badass and that aroused Rachel, this girl was made of steel, hazel eyes inspecting her, looking for what?

 

“Your clothes will be ready in an hour.” Rachel purred, her hand was on the torso of the punk, she had no clue when her hand got in there but Sarah didn’t remove it.

“An hour? A lot of things can happen in an hour.” Sarah’s voice came out like a deep growl.

Rachel was in serious shit, she knew this girl was not going to be like her whores; yes she had whores, well paid whores that would keep her mouth shut regarding her kinks, she needed to release her usual tension with other… activities, however Sarah Manning was not going to relent her control, she would eat her alive, even if it was just for fun, which she never did. Sex was just a matter to release her constraints.

Sarah licked her lips, oh there it was, the thirst, she hated this girl but she also was so damn hot, how about no? This is going to fuck you up Duncan, you're going to let this punk own you?

Rachel was a breath away, she just had to lean in, Sarah was not going to do it, she was too damn proud, so full of herself, Sarah was going to let her take the final decision, to bang or not to bang?

 

She was against the window, her body facing the dark sky and behind she had the punk, naked. Sarah was kissing her neck relentlessly, Sarah had her pinned against the window, both hands over her head, Sarah’s grip was strong on her wrists, she held her hands against the crystal hard, so Rachel Duncan was sandwiched between floor to ceiling windows and Sarah Manning; at the mercy of the punk, what a day to be alive.

Sarah was rough, a lioness both in fights and in bed; spreading hot kisses on her back, everything was going great except when Sarah stopped to laugh about her choice of underwear before she removed it. Sarah hadn’t noticed the blonde’s underwear since she removed her business suit and went straight to the kissing but now that she looked, she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Really? Animal prints?”

“Go to hell you lil-” Rachel protested yet in a second Sarah shut her up with a hard kiss, her leg was now between her thighs pushing against her bottom, Rachel was completely crushed against the window, the cold of the glass rubbing against her erect nipples, it was an incredible sensation, hot and cold at the same time. Sarah let one of Rachel’s hands go and slid her own on Rachel’s flat stomach and then into her breast, pinching and squeezing it, Rachel inclined her head onto Sarah’s shoulder giving her access to her neck, Sarah’s other hand moved to her sensitive place while she bit and left dark smudges on her skin, she was teasing her, that damn bitch, then she slid her fingers on top of her clit, eliciting a growl from Rachel who held for dear life against the slippery glass. Sarah nipped at her earlobe, whispering dirty things in her ear, her busted hand traced circles until her fingers were wet with her arousal. Sarah then plastered the glass with her hot cream, “You are so damn wet princess, you see that? How bad do you want me?” Sarah kept teasing her, her hand was back in the depths of her womanhood.

“Fuck off you punk rock ho.”

“Shite, dirty words coming out of your mouth princess makes me so damn wet.” Sarah growled, her breaths were so intense, so desperate for oxygen, she was dying in the heat of this girl’s body. Sarah’s eyebrow was still bleeding, the droplets of blood falling over her shoulder, the salty tasted of her lips was combined with blood as well.

Sarah turned Rachel around hard and lifted her leg, her strength exciting the blonde; her back now was against the window, which was getting pretty foggy with the heat and sweat of Rachel’s body plus the intensity of the friction between body and glass. Sarah slid her fingers inside her tight channel and increased the motion of her hand in and out in and out until she was pumping her hard, Rachel bit at Sarah’s trapezius, “fuck” the lioness growled. Rachel pushed Sarah with strength showing that she was no weakling either and held her neck almost choking her, “you like that huh?” Sarah grumbled while keeping the pace of her fingers inside of the blonde. The glass was now so slippery, it was completely moistened with Rachel’s sweat, it was almost like the Titanic scene inside the car. They were kissing wild, Rachel pulled Sarah’s lip with her teeth, Sarah tongued her, their lips smashed against the other, it was like they needed the contact more than air, the exchange was raw and savage, hands exploring and leaving marks everywhere, the rhythm was enthralling, it was like a battle for survival, a battle royale, the last woman standing was going to be the winner. And then, she came, Rachel’s tight core contracted hard, squeezing Sarah’s fingers, she dug her nails on Sarah’s back drawing blood and leaving half crescent moon marks all over her skin. Both collapsed on the floor gasping for air, Sarah felt a bit dizzy, the punches she received were taking a toll on her. However Rachel was on top of the punk in a minute, and started to grind her wet hips over Sarah’s pelvis, Sarah held into Rachel’s tights, while the other girl pushed rhythmically; Rachel clawed her hands on Sarah’s jaw and introduced her fingers inside the punk’s mouth, Rachel bit her own lip, this woman was worth all her damn money, but she wasn’t paying her with cash but with her soul. She saw it in the brunette's dark eyes filled with lust and anger. When both came, Rachel collapsed on top of Sarah, bodies entangled in sweat and blood, it was a disaster, a beautiful disaster.

 

“Sorry about the mess in your windows.” Sarah smiled like she just rocked her world.

“Don’t be so full of yourself Sarah, I had better.” Rachel stated, cool demeanor yet she was lying, Sarah destroyed by far all her sexual encounters, not do demerit Cosima who was pretty stoned that time and did a wonderful job in San Francisco, nonetheless, while Cosima was sweet, Sarah was a beast, and she needed a beast.

Sarah was a bit offended by the remark.

“Really?” Sarah stood up and walked to the bathroom, the sway of her hips enticing, the sweat over her body incredibly hot and the marks, her marks on her back sent her to hell and back again; Sarah whistled when she saw how spacious it was, “this is bigger than my bedroom.”, she leaned on the door frame casually and grinned “that was warm up princess, I can do much better; if you wanna find out I’ll be taking a hot shower and cleaning this damn wounds.” and she went inside.

Rachel was excited, nothing like a good challenge, this girl was seriously something else.

 

Rachel followed the burnette, they way Sarah washed her beaten body was alluring, then she joined in the shower. They started washing their bodies with the luffa, the soap sliding over their hot skin. Rachel saw the huge bruise forming on Sarah’s ribs, she got scared for one second by the size of the purplish/blackened spot, but the moment Sarah started to distract her she forgot about it.

In the end the bathroom ended worse than the window.

 

Sarah got dressed with her clean clothes and Rachel was back in her power suit. Sarah looked a bit better without all the blood on her face and knuckles.

“Well um thanks I guess, this doesn’t mean that I have changed my mind about you being a Posh Bitch. Still it was kinda fun.” Sarah stared into her eyes, burning her skull with those fiery eyes.

“I wouldn’t expect less from a lowlife grifter.” Rachel smirked. Sarah turned around and walked away, once she closed the door her room felt as cold as ever.

______

Sarah arrived home pretty late, when she opened the door she found Mrs. S waiting reluctantly on the couch.

“What were you doing so late at night? You got out of work hours ago.” Mrs. S was pretty mad.

“I’m sorry yeah? Time flew by.” Sarah dropped her backpack on the couch and was going to bolt to her room trying to avoid more questions from Mrs. S yet the older woman intercepted her.

Mrs. S walked towards Sarah and held her chin up “that is a bruise young lady, what were you doing?”

“Nothing bad, I swear. I helped someone, that’s all.” Sarah avoided facing Mrs. S to keep her from seeing clearly the rest of her bruised body, marked by that crazy ass bitch as well; she didn't want to lie but she preferred to keep the thing with Posh Bitch a secret.

“It took you past midnight to help this person of yours?” Mrs. S was of course, doubtful.

“Yeah, it was nothing bad, trust me on that S. I swear I’m not back into my old habits.”

“Next time make sure to call, will you?” Sarah nodded and Mrs. S let her go.

 

Sarah laid on her bed for a while, too much things on her head at the moment to be able to sleep. The almighty ice princess Rachel Duncan had no clue about what she did to her parents, she really wanted to tell her but things turned out completely different. She never imagined that behind all that cold facade there was molten lava. Rachel Duncan, dangerous and hot as hell. What she was even doing? she hated that bitch.

What bothered Sarah the most was that she should really have told her and apologized for her parents, yet she couldn’t bring herself to do it, she took a last glance at the business card she kept under her pillow, tracing her finger over the name written nicely in black ink, she released her breath slowly, put the card away and turn off her lamp. She dreamt of Posh Bitch that night, even though she hoped she didn’t, she was naked and wet for her, so damn hungry.

Sarah Manning for more than she tried, Destiny was going to stuck her with that girl, she couldn’t deny the pull Rachel had over her, she was like a moth to a flame, and if she kept going on she was going to burn.


	5. Chapter 5

Sarah hadn’t heard of Posh Bitch for weeks, she thought that she got rid of her; she should feel relieved however there was a part of her that missed that cold voice, she wanted to see those sexy legs, those sultry eyes. Night after night she fantasized about her, the desire to have that girl under her was intoxicating, she came off over and over again, screaming her name and she couldn’t get rid of that damn attraction she felt and she hated herself for feeling like this. It was until she got a text message while she was at work, when she read it she knew it was her, yet she had to read twice the message because it was so out of character the way this proper ice princess spoke compared to how she texted and talked during sex. Sarah replied and two seconds later she got her rebuttal.

“What on earth?” Sarah was wondering how she got her number, but Rachel Duncan being who she was, well, that was child’s play for her.

“Oi, I am taking my break yeah?” Sarah hung her apron and got out of the coffee shop, she walked to the park and there she was, black coat, seated all regal in a bench, legs crossed and her lap dog as usual on her side.

“I mean, you disappeared for weeks after we, um, well and now you’re back, you just can’t get in and out of my life as it pleases you, I’m not your employee. Anyway, you said you need a favor, what a lowlife like me can do for you? ” Sarah sat close, but no too much.

“I need a plus one. I have an important dinner gala and you are the only suitable option I have.”

“Well that must be sad if I’m the only option you have princess, what about your dog?” Sarah extended her arm across the bench brushing accidentally Rachel’s back sending her shivers on her fingertips.

“Daniel has other things to do. He’ll pick you up Saturday night at 21h, be ready.” Rachel stood up and went away.

“Oi! I haven’t even said yes, what the fuck?” Rachel disappeared with her slave, so sure she was going to go to that stupid gala. Sarah sighed, she had to cut ties with this bossy bitch as soon as possible.

 

Two days later she received a package at her home, when she opened it she was completely freaked out.

“Holy shite, that bitch is fucking crazy if she thinks I’m going to wear this.”

It was a long black dress with tiny diamonds, the back was bare, and in another box there were black shoes that matched the dress.

She put the box away, and sent a text to Rachel expressing her discontent. She put the package away and went down to dinner when Mrs. S called.

She was eating her roasted chicken when the phone vibrated, she picked it up and replied. She kept eating but the messages kept coming in.

“Excuse me but could you turn that damn thing off?” Mrs. S was not too happy about the constant interruptions.

“Yeah yeah sorry.” She drank her coke while reading the last text before shutting down the phone; she almost choked when she read what Rachel intended to do after the party with her wearing that dress. Her face turned red, completely flustered and of course Mrs. S noticed.

“What exactly is it that you talk with this person of yours Sarah? Because it is him, I know it.” Mrs. S arched her brows pretty much filling the blank spaces by the body language of her foster kid.

“Her name is Rachel.” Helena blurted out.

“Helena what the hell!?” Sarah had no clue how did she know.

“Rachel? Well I was not expecting that, but it’s okay I guess. I’m not one to judge.” Mrs. S just shrugged.

“No no it’s nothing like that S, it’s NOT that.” Sarah was perplexed; this was getting worst by the moment.

“I have to meet this Rachel, she is taking away my sestra. You say her name a lot.” Helena kept licking her spoon with jello.

“No, I don’t meathead. Eat your jello.” Sarah tried to change subjects, by the way the conversation was heading it was better to avoid the topic.

“Liar. You scream her name at nights and when you shower.” Helena savored the jello in her spoon.

“Piss off Helena!” Sarah had to cover her face in complete embarrassment.

“But you’re too loud sestra.” Helena kept eating like she didn’t say anything wrong.

“That’s enough you two and finish your meal.” Mrs. S scolded the twins.

“I’m not hungry anymore.” Sarah rolled her eyes and went upstairs, she suddenly lost her appetite after that inappropriate comment from her twin, but she had a point, she was too damn loud. Just contain the horny, that rich princess is nothing but trouble and you know it.

 

Saturday night arrived and that bitch’s lap dog was on time, she was embarrassed to hell but still she wore the dress as requested. Why she accepted to come and meet Posh Bitch? She had no idea. Liar, you wanted to see her. “Shut up” Sarah said to herself out loud.

“Excuse me?” Daniel looked at her from the rearview mirror.

“Ah nothing, nothing at all.” Sarah shook her head, she was losing it, just what she needed.

Daniel took her to a fancy building and there she met the ice princess who drove her mad, wearing a navy blue dress that suited her like a glove.

“Thank you for coming Sarah, now shall we?” Rachel walked inside the ballroom, the big chandeliers on the roof and swanky decoration made Sarah squirm, she felt like a fish out of water.

“Relax Sarah, you just have to enjoy yourself, I’ll deal with the rest.” A man came to greet Rachel, he was blonde with baby blue eyes, probably around 30.

“Dobro pozhalovat.'” The man spoke with a similar accent like Helena.

“Thank you for having me Aleksandr, this is my...friend Sarah.” Sarah shook the hand of the man and smiled awkwardly.

“And please, save a dance for me Rachel or with your friend.” The man was charming, Sarah had to give him that.

“I might, and she is off-limits.” The possessiveness in her voice sent a jolt into Sarah’s stomach; this girl really thought she owned her.

Rachel and Sarah were lead to a table and then they were served two glasses of champagne.

“All righ’ cut the crap, why I’m really here?” Sarah was brought into Posh Bitch games, and that was never a good idea.

“That men you met is CEO of a competitor of us. I need certain things he has, but that hideous animal thought he could take me to bed in exchange.” Rachel took a sip of her drink.

“Ah I see, so you brought me here to cockblock him. Well I feel now so much better.” Sarah was bitter, being brought into her schemes meant probably more trouble for her.

“Yes, but I also intend to fuck you at the end of the night so, that as well.” Rachel kept her cool demeanor, her lips in a half-smile; it was a wonder how she could say such things without showing much emotion. She waved at other business guys with a fake smile. Sarah gulped down the champagne in one seat; at least she could enjoy the night before everything went to shit, “oi! can you bring me a bourbon or something.” Sarah asked the waiter who nodded and went to get her a glass of whiskey.

 

Rachel danced with so many guys, all important tycoons in the business of biotechnology, Sarah could only stare from afar, how different they were, two different worlds, she was never going to fit here, she knew that, yet that didn’t stop her from dreaming about her. Because she had to be honest, all this time she thought about her against that stupid window. She was ruined for life, Sarah was never going to see floor to ceiling windows the same way again.

Rachel returned to her table and made a call “Do it.” was all she said, and that didn’t sound good.

“Bloody hell, are you going to kill somebody?” Sarah whispered trying to keep her composure.

“Not exactly, relax Sarah. Dance with me” Rachel lifted from her chair and pulled Sarah to the dance floor. There they danced to a slow song, the slow movement of Rachel’s hips brushing against her was so damn enticing. Suddenly all the lights went out, the live band stopped playing, Sarah tensed immediately yet Rachel pulled her closer and kissed her in the dark. Her lips invitingly, sultry, her lips parted and she slid her tongue inside, deepening the kiss. The crowd began to trouble.

“Keep calm we are trying to solve the issue as quick as possible.” A male voice reassured.

Sarah cradled Rachel’s face, she kept kissing her savoring those red lips when the lights came back on breaking the magic of the moment. Sarah blinked a bit trying to adjust to the change of light, while Rachel returned back to the table. The party went on normally and Rachel kept chatting in god knows how many different languages, Sarah was completely lost. Only then she noticed how important Posh Bitch was, she was recognized by every rich businessman in the party.

Rachel’s cell phone rang; she picked the call, “yes?” Very well, meet us in 20.” She closed the phone call; immediately she said her goodbyes with Sarah.

“It is a shame that you are leaving, the night is young Rachel.” The man, Aleksandr teased.

“A shame indeed but my lady friend is really tired, it was very lovely night.” Rachel offered her hand to the Russian and he kissed it. Sarah just rolled her eyes, her expression sour, she just wanted to murder this guy who dared to danced too damn close to Posh Bitch and now he kissed her hand.

 

They went out of the ballroom and headed to the buildings main entrance where Daniel was already expecting them. Once the car was on the move Rachel spoke “how did it go?”

“It went well, Mr. Dementyev won't’ be a problem anymore.” He handed her a folder and Rachel smiled satisfied; Sarah was now surer than ever that she wanted nothing to do with her shite.

Daniel dropped them at Rachel’s hotel, it was past midnight already so Rachel was staying in London for the day; she took Sarah’s hand and led her to her suite.

“Okay, now why am I here?” Sarah wanted to go back home and forget whatever shite Rachel did tonight.

“I told you earlier, I intend to fuck you.” She started to remove her jewelry carefully.

“Oh I think I missed the memo when we became fuck buddies.” Sarah removed those bothersome heels that were killing her feet, she preferred her boots a thousand times.

Rachel giggled, “don’t be stupid Sarah, I don’t like you, I despise you but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun once in a while. Besides I think it’s pretty clear who owned you last time.” Rachel put her jewels inside a box and stood up, she walked towards Sarah, staring at her, enjoying the view.

“Yeah the hate is there, trust me princess and no, you didn’t own me bitch.” Sarah hated how narcissistic that girl was, how full of herself she was, just like her, damn they had so much more in common than she ever imagined. Rachel removed her gown and sat on the bed, her animal print underwear making Sarah smile; she knew she was going to be disappointed if her ice princess didn’t wear animal prints tonight. Sarah was grinning now , “I bet that if you could, you would bang yourself daily.”

“I do but for some reason I can’t stop seeing your stupid face. Now turn around and take the dress off, slowly.” Rachel ordered, her voice rough.

Sarah knew it was time to play. She did as requested, these games with Rachel Duncan were exciting, and she intended to win.

Rachel started to fondle herself, the way she was looking at her was damn erotic, her eyes were dark, her red lips inviting. Sarah gulped, Rachel removed her bra and undies now, her moans sending electrical sparks into her spine, Sarah was about to touch herself when Rachel growled, “No! you won’t touch yourself until I say so.”

Sarah remained still, she was going to abide by the rules, no problem, she had this, she was going to let that stupid asshole get off alone. Sarah hissed, she hadn’t realized that she had her fist closed so damn hard that her nails were digging on her flesh.

“Shit.” Sarah was desperate, this was bad, she was so damn turned on by that bitch spread wide on that bed, she wanted to jump at her and fuck her senseless. She was trying so fricking hard to lie still and Rachel knew it by the way her eyes glinted in satisfaction.

“This is ridiculous.” Sarah accused.

“Then admit it, you belong to me.” Rachel’s breath was heavy, she was close.

Sarah wanted to be the one rocking her fucking twisted world; she was not going to allow that bitch to come by her own means. Not happening. “Never princess.” instead Sarah went like the lioness she was and claimed her prey, she pinned the blonde hard on the mattress, Rachel was not going down without a fight and slashed her nails against Sarah’s cheek, leaving a trail of blood on her face.

“I fucking hate you” and Sarah crushed her lips against Rachel’s red lips.

 

The game finally ended, both girls ended up drained and satiated. Rachel was tired and fell asleep pretty fast, Sarah marveled at the ease of Rachel’s breathing, her calmness, nothing compared to the raging storm that girl created, she was dangerous, she was poisonous and yet, Sarah couldn’t keep her hands off of her. The thing that was going on between them was like a match, it was burning with so much intensity now, but sooner rather than later the match was going to be consumed by the flame, to leave them in ashes, and that was scary.

Sarah cuddled with her, embracing the cold ice princess, it was so strange the way she fitted in her arms, Rachel Duncan was doing things to her that went beyond the physical and that was something that caught her off guard, however she was still debating again if she should tell her about her parents or not, she really wanted to get this out of her chest but Rachel was like a grenade, she had no clue if she was going to blow her up or not. Sarah closed her eyes; she was going to keep her mouth shut at least for another day.


	6. Chapter 6

Rachel felt warm for the first time in her life, she was accustomed to use people to her own benefit and discard them when she didn’t see them fit for her purpose. She had learned the hard way that things didn’t last forever, so when she opened her eyes and found herself spooned by Sarah Manning, that sent her into panic mode. She could feel the punk’s warmth breath on the nape of her neck; her strong arm was over her body like a cocoon protecting her from the outer world.  
She tried to move away from her slowly, avoiding waking her up. Rachel slid inch by inch until she was away from Sarah’s grasp, she sat on the bed and saw her, she was fast asleep, she noted the three red lines she had on her left cheek where she scratched her last night. Waking up with someone on your side was a first for her, once she was done that was it, but here she was with this rebellious girl on the same bed. And that was scary as hell, she really needed to keep her distance from her, Sarah Manning was becoming more than an obsession, a need. Rachel Duncan didn't need, she only had herself and that was enough; it had to be enough. Rachel dressed up quietly and left the girl alone. She went to Daniel’s room, asked him to get a couple of items for Sarah and once he did as she told they arranged the check out; they had to depart as soon as possible she had wasted too much time focusing on Sarah Manning, she had to get back on track with the hunt of the murderer of her parents.  
_______  
Her phone was ringing loudly, “shit” Sarah blurted, she opened her eyes and found herself alone, she rolled off the bed and picked up her phone. She paced around the room while she talked with Siobhan.  
“Yeah? No need to worry Mrs. S I am fine. Yeah, I’ll be back soon, besides it’s Sunday, no need to rush.” She threw her phone away and jumped on the bed. She saw a note on the night table, Sarah scooted on the bed until she could reach it.  
“For your trouble. Really? She thinks I’m her bloody whore” The room was paid till tomorrow and all food was included so at least she could order breakfast. She grabbed the phone and dialed room service; she walked to the closet to see if there was something she could wear besides the awful dress that she was planning to sell after today. She found in a bag new clothes: a tshirt and a baggy pant. At least the ice princess had the decency to buy clothes for her to be more comfy. A knock on the door distracted her, she opened and got her breakfast, she ate to her heart’s content, and then she headed to the bathroom.  
“Goddamit!” Sarah looked at her reddened cheek. That psycho almost ripped her face with her nails. Sarah showered and dressed up and once she was ready she went back home.

 

Sarah continued with her life as usual, going to work and back home again, no news of that posh bitch for months now, but she missed her and that was ridiculous, they just did the do like twice, she didn’t knew her except for the fact that she was rich and bossy as fuck, apart from the huge situation I killed your folks 2k14 that she had to get off from her chest. She took the cell phone and stared at the screen for minutes with the business card in her hand, to later, shove it away. She wanted to hear her posh accent again, she wanted to see her and she was an idiot for wanting her.  
Sarah went down to eat as usual with her foster mom and her twin, however Helena was nowhere to be seen around the table, which was weird because if someone loved the food in this house, that was Helena.  
“Where is Helena?” Sarah sliced some bread to put on her plate.  
“She told me she had an important problem to fix; she is coming back at night.” Mrs. S informed.  
“Oh well, maybe it has to do with food after all.” Sarah joked and continued to eat her meal.  
________  
“Congratulations Ms. Cormier on your master’s completion. I am glad to hear that you will start next semester the PhD in immunology.” Rachel offered her sincere congratulations.  
“Merci Rachel, I have to say that it feels overwhelming but I can’t wait to start right away.” Delphine was seated in front of Rachel’s desk, her wonderful blonde curls left loose over her shoulders, she had a small smile on her face but Rachel could see that it didn’t reach her eyes. It’s been months already but Ms. Cormier was not over that dreadlocked Californian girl.  
“That is what I wanted to hear, in less than five years I expect to have the wonderful Dr. Cormier in charge of our department of research. Dr. Bowles can’t give me any more praise about your work. She is very pleased to have you and so am I.” Rachel smiled again. “Here you have a contract, an offer for a part-time to assist Dr. Marion Bowles as her assistant in our facilities.”  
Delphine reviewed the document and then, “Excuse me-” a thick accented voice interrupted.  
Rachel stood up from her chair, “How on earth did you entered here!?” The pale blonde with the low-tide green jacket was in her office.  
“I have seen you before yes? You’re Posh, wait, Posh, Posh…” The blonde was thinking really hard.  
“Bitch?” Rachel arched her brow, arms crossed, this is just what she needed, the twin of Sarah, Helena Manning.  
“No, SPICE!!! You are Posh Spice, I remember you from San Francisco, and you too.” The pale girl said rather excited.  
And at that, the expression of Delphine Cormier shattered, Rachel prayed that she never looked like that, the memories of Cosima Niehaus were tearing her apart. That was pathetic, letting one single person ruin your life like that.  
“No Shakira, it’s Rachel Duncan.” Rachel corrected and Immediately Daniel entered, gun drawn.  
“Let her go Daniel.” Rachel ordered.  
“But this girl beat up our security, she is dangerous Rachel.”  
“Let. Her. Go.” No one questioned her; Daniel knew that, he let the ukrainian go. “Now Helena, what are you doing here?”  
“Sestra. She is sad because of Rachel, I fix problem for her.” Helena approached her. “Rachel. The name of a sheep, you hurt Sarah. I should punish you, but you are friends with Cosima’s special girl. Cosima is my friend.” Helena seemed capable of splitting her throat in a second yet the way she spoke was so childish.  
“I remember you, oui? we saw each other at Twin Peaks, in the parking lot. Cosima and I, we are not...” Delphine was so sad now, another reminder that she was not going to be ever with that girl.  
“Listen Helena, what happens between your sister and I is none of your business, do you understand. I will deal with your sestra soon.” Rachel was face to face with this animal, both Manning’s were dangerous predators.  
“I will hunt you down if you hurt her, I will keep sestra safe. I leave for Cosima’s sake. She was very good to me.” Helena snarled.  
“Very well, now go to the train station, the next departure is in the next hour.” Rachel advised, she returned to her desk and Daniel escorted out the crazy twin.  
“She was the dealer of Cosima back in San Francisco, she might seem a bit weird but Cosima trusted her.” Delphine finished reading the document and signed it.  
“The Manning’s are a very interesting pair, particularly the other twin, Sarah. That is all Ms. Cormier, and again congratulations.” Rachel dismissed Delphine and got back to work, however she couldn't stop thinking about Sarah, she was sad according to Helena, why? she really wanted to know. She took her phone and made the call.  
“Hello Sarah.”  
“Rachel? What the fuck? You think you can call me whenever you have an itch?”  
Rachel smiled, she could hear the anger in her voice, she loved when Sarah was pissed.  
“I had a special visitor today.” Sarah had no clue Helena stopped by, the sudden silence on the other side of the line was evidence.  
“Bloody hell. I’m sorry yeah? It won’t happen again.” Frustration in her voice.  
“I heard you were sad.” Rachel teased; it was time to have fun.  
“Wha’ hell no, I’m not sad.”  
“Hmm, so your sister was lying.” Rachel reclined her chair and faced the windows, she was enjoying this too much.  
“Well no, I mean, Helena is confused, she probably thinks I was sad but I’m not.” She sounded defensive.  
“That’s too bad, and here I thought I could cheer you up.” Sarah laughed at her sarcastic comment; damn it, that laugh did things to her.  
“Look princess, I don’t need you to cheer me up.” Sarah countered. Her voice was of defiance as usual.  
“Work for me Sarah, I have to travel a lot. We wouldn’t even have to see each other. I just need someone trustworthy to deal with personal issues.” Sweet jesus, she sounded like she was begging, pleading that stupid punk to work for her, what on earth was she doing?  
Sarah didn’t answered immediately, which meant that she was thinking about it, which was good, if she didn’t agree she would have shut her up by now.  
“I’ll think about it, yeah?”  
“Fair enough. I’ll wait for your response.” She closed the call and smiled, it was ridiculous but she was smiling and feeling stupid at the same time. It was true that she was going to be busy, the time she could see her was minimum, still, she could have her and that felt more satisfying than any other dealings she had done.  
______  
“Helena don’t do that again, yeah?. I thank you for caring but this has nothing to do with that girl.” Sarah explained as best as she could her twin.  
“You are sad, we are family, I protect you.” Helena declared while eating jello.  
“Just don’t do that meathead, Rachel is pretty shady already for you to be messing with her.” Sarah tried to explain for the 11th time why it was not a good idea to mess with that narcissistic bitch.  
“I remembered dirty sexy Rachel, you threaten her in San Francisco, yes? I saw Cosima’s girl as well, she is friends with her. She can’t be that bad, right?” Helena inquired.  
“I don’t know, but how did you know where to find her?” Sarah grabbed a cookie and took a bite.  
“The card you keep under your pillow.” Helena finished her jello and stood up from the table.  
“Bloody hell, Helena! Don’t touch my things, all righ’?” Sarah sighed in frustration, Helena was like a guardian angel, she was never going to allow her dear twin to be sad or hurt. And Sarah would do the same for her, so that was it, nothing to do about it.  
Now Sarah had to think about that offer, was she really going to work for Duncan? She could definitely use the money to help Mrs. S. However she had to see firsthand what exactly she wanted her to do. WIth that girl she had to be careful or she was going to get burnt.

Sarah made the decision to meet her personally; she took the train at King's Cross to Cambridge and headed to the address provided in the business card. Sarah went to the front desk and asked for her. She had to wait for various minutes until some security guy came and escorted her to the office. The office building was really nice and probably all the stuff here was expensive as hell, she was afraid to bump some shit because she knew she was not going to be able to pay it in this lifetime or the next.  
Once the security man reached the office he opened the door for her and let her in.  
“Good, you’re here.” Rachel was facing the window and in that moment she flashbacked to that night where she had Rachel against the window. Sarah shook her head erasing the vivid image in her mind; she had to kick herself mentally to focus on the business at hand and not the fucking.  
“I’m listening, what is your offer?” Sarah walked to her desk and sat, her body relaxed on the chair, she needed to look confident, not horny.  
Rachel turned around and seated at the other side of the desk, she crossed her legs in that damn alluring way that Sarah had to change her position in the chair to feel at ease; she passed her a folder and Sarah took it, she opened the folder and read the contract.  
Rachel was offering a nice sum of money per month to deal with local investors and just be her errand girl, it sounded pretty good to be true. Mrs. S wouldn’t have to deal with her shit and Helena could study to be a chef or something like that. Everything seemed legit.  
Sarah breathed in and exhaled slowly before speaking again “all righ’ sounds good, I’ll be doing just errands, yeah?” Sarah fixated her eyes into the other girl who stood up and approached her, she was right beside her, standing all in her mighty glory, “you just have to sign Sarah, it will be a professional relationship, I can assure you that.” Sarah took a last glance and signed the contract. Sarah handed the folder back to Rachel and stood up.  
“So when do I start?” Sarah asked her new lady boss.  
“Next week, be here at 8, Daniel will provide instructions.” Rachel walked towards the window and stared outside.  
“Okay, I’ll deal with your dog then, good enough.” Sarah turned around and walked away. She really hoped she hadn't made a mistake by joining the ranks of Rachel Duncan.


	7. Chapter 7

And so Sarah Manning started to work as the errand girl of Rachel Duncan; she delivered documents, picked up payments and made deposits. Whatever task that the ice princess required she dealt with it. Rachel was right, they barely saw each other, Sarah saw Daniel more than her boss. Every time she asked out of curiosity, not because she wanted to see her she told herself, Rachel was in some part of the world, or in a conference call.  
Sarah did as requested and went from place to place fulfilling errands, the days she had off were used to rest in the company of her twin, it was not bad at all working for Duncan.

 

Sarah had to go today to deliver some documents for Ms. Delphine Cormier, she walked to the building she had written on her address notepad and went to the 3rd floor, room B21. She knocked the door and waited. After a couple of minutes a blonde opened the door.  
“Hi, I have some documents for Ms. Cormier.” Sarah showed the documents to the young woman.  
“Oh merci. This are from Dr. Bowles, oui?” The blonde asked curiously.  
“Yeah I think so, right from the Dyad office Ms. Cormier.” Sarah kept inspecting the blonde; she was pretty tall, porcelain skin, doe brown eyes, rosy cheeks. She was beautiful.  
“Thank you and it’s Delphine, enchantée.” She offered her hand and Sarah shook it.  
“Sarah, nice meeting you.” Sarah gave her an awkward smile.  
“Oh, you are Helena’s twin, I thought I had seeing your face before, that’s why.” Delphine asserted, “I met her in San Francisco; she was a friend of-”  
“Cosima, yeah. I remember her, she was the dreadlock girl. Damn this is a small world. So, I guess you are the reason she ended up in the hotel with Helena so sad, yeah?” Sarah saw the expression of the blonde, she seemed broke and lost. It was better to change the subject.  
“Anyway, glad to meet you Delphine and if you need anything well, just ask.” Sarah grinned, she waved goodbye and got back on the street.

She was back on business checking the next place she had to go to pick up a special package for her boss Ms. Duncan, also known as ice princess or Posh Bitch, when out of nowhere came someone she thought she was never going to see again.  
“Hello Sarah.”  
“Holy shit, Vic, what the fuck are you doing here?” Sarah was weary of him, they were pals in the past but after what happened with the Duncan’s she got away from him.  
“I see you are back in the game, why didn’t you call?” Vic protested.  
“I am not back into anything Vic, I told you that I left that life forever, so leave me alone yeah?” Sarah kept walking trying to get rid of Victor.  
“I see you are working for Rachel Duncan. She is filthy rich Sarah, of course you are into something and I want in.” Vic kept insisting and Sarah was getting pissed.  
“Look asshole I am working honestly here, so back off and don’t come back.” Sarah threatened.  
“Come on Sarah, don’t be like that. Woah, wait, Duncan, holy shit you are working for the death rich parents’ girl?” Vic was laughing like he just hit the jackpot. Tell me you are doing that out of guilt.” He kept laughing. Sarah simply ignored him.  
“Does she even know what you did?” Vic kept coming back, and Sarah tired of his shit turned around and pushed him against a wall holding him from the neck of his shirt.  
“Bloody hell Vic, I said leave it alone!” Sarah was really pissed, burning him with her stare.  
“She doesn’t know? Oh Sarah that is some fucked up shit right there.”  
“Fuck off!” Sarah turned around and went away as fast as she could, that was not great news. Vic had ruined the day for her.

She kept doing her errands trying to forget about that asshole of Vic; she knew she didn’t have much time to finish her work for the day. It's been months and she hasn’t said a word to Rachel, she needed to come clean about her parents, but she couldn’t do it. That was cowardly of her, yet she was afraid to mess up what she had built with the ice princess, it was a weird friendship but still she appreciated it. Sarah finally picked up the package for Rachel and headed back to her flat. By the time she arrived at her exclusive condo, it was already late, she headed to her security station and asked for the concierge, so he could deliver the package, however, she was requested upstairs. She thought it had to do with Daniel complaining about her bad timing or giving her more work to do tomorrow. She knocked and waited till Daniel opened the door.  
“Here you go, package for Ms. Duncan.” Sarah delivered the package and was on her way out when Daniel stopped her in her tracks.  
“Rachel wants to talk, go in, I’ll take care of this.” Daniel allowed her to pass and then left her on the apartment alone. The flat was huge; the living room had a large table for at least six people, leather couch on the living room and floor to ceiling windows. Sarah moved to the next room where she found Posh Bitch.  
“It’s been awhile Sarah.” Rachel was wearing a dark suit, the skirt revealing her amazing legs, no need denying what was obvious.  
“Yeah.” Months and months without seeing each other, and still she dreamt of her every single night. Rachel was on her desk working on her laptop, she closed the lid and walked to the front of the desk where she leaned casually on the desk. She licked her lips softly, Sarah deviated her eyes towards her mouth, she snapped out of it and looked back into those dark lustful eyes.  
“You have been doing a good work, it seems you are not useless after all.” Rachel pointed out; of course, there was playfulness in her voice which only meant one thing.  
“I always procure to do a good work, princess.” Sarah got closer, one step at a time leading her into the personal space of Rachel. Her breath burning her, Sarah spat the bubblegum she was chewing into the trash can and with one sweep of her hand threw everything that was over the desk and kissed the posh girl, pushing her on top of the wood table, her hands quickly lifted her skirt and got where she wanted them to be. The kiss was savage, passionate, and thirsty; the burning desire was there after all this months of inactivity, how weird was that? Two complete opposite girls had the most amazing sex when they were together. Sarah went down on that bitch right away and punk rocked her world, she made sure that she screamed her name or else she was not going to stop until she did so. It was very important to make a clear statement with this princess, which was that in bed, Sarah Manning was boss and not the other way around.  
As usual the banging occurred everywhere in that flat: against a wall, over the desk on a chair, name the place. The last piece of furniture they usually ended was the bed, it was weird but that’s how it was for them. Once they were done Sarah started to get ready to go back home, yet the words from the ice princess surprised her.  
“Stay.” Rachel’s voice was commanding, straight with what she wanted and yet, what she was asking was completely unexpected. Sarah was on the edge of the bed, ready to dress up; she stood there thinking about Rachel’s request. Staying together in her flat, on her bed, that was risky, she was risking her sanity by letting this relationship be more than physical, though the deepest part of her mind told her that it was already too late to worry about that. She sighed and moved back to her spot on the bed, she cuddled with her and let tiredness claim her.  
_____  
When Rachel woke up, Sarah was still asleep, the punk tended to oversleep apparently. The way Sarah held her between her arms was the most closeness she ever had, even after all this months from flying from place to place, she couldn’t forget this feeling of belonging, the warmth that she felt when she was with her. Rachel wanted to make the brunette surrender; however the one who was surrendering was her. She wanted to own this person and in return the one who was becoming attached was none other than Rachel Duncan, corporate princess. She was in deep trouble.

Rachel put on a robe and went to deal with her usual things, she called Daniel for her breakfast, and then she went to the bathroom to get ready for work. By the time Sarah was awake and half dressed in a black tee and black undies, she was already in her power suit and eating breakfast.  
“Tea?” Rachel offered; cold voice in place. She really didn’t want to show any sign of weakness, yet the way that stupid girl smiled, so smug, she melted on the inside.  
“Yeah, thanks.” Sarah sat in front of her and took a cup.  
“I have to admit that I doubted your skills.” Rachel took a sip of her tea, reading the news comfortably.  
“Really? Well, not that I’m surprised by that, it was expected, but you should know better princess, I can deal with you.”  
“I was talking about your job.” Rachel clarified, a bit embarrassed by the punk. Sarah took a bite of bread with jam, “Ah sure, I mean, everybody thinks that I suck. I was a stupid kid, but you already know that since you did such a thorough research on me.” Sarah drank her tea, finished her breakfast and went to take a shower, not a single word came out of her mouth, like she was hurt. Rachel kept thinking about that, Sarah was such a cocky girl but on the inside there was this self-pity, low-esteem girl. Yes, she knew about her police record and still she didn’t think that would define her as a person, nonetheless there was something else about Sarah Manning; what could she have possibly done that was making Sarah hurt?  
Rachel concluded her breakfast brushed her teeth and said goodbye to the punk who was in the shower, Sarah was so damn tempting under the hot spray of water, particularly now that she was mad, yet, she walked away and headed to the office, it was better to call it a truce and avoid causing more conflict.

Rachel spent all day preparing documents, reviewing meeting transcripts and thinking about a certain girl who wore leather like a second skin, whose eyes were so enticing, so full of secrets that she needed to know. The levels of obsession for Sarah Manning were completely out of control. This was supposed to be a thing, nothing more nothing less, and yet, there she was sleeping with that punk over and over again. Her whores were entertainment, Sarah was not just entertainment, she was a challenge, and she was fire and kind and protective of her own people. She hated herself for being weak like this, she wanted to control that animal and in return the beast was taming her and that wasn’t good. She focused back on her work, for several hours she dealt with business as usual until Daniel interrupted her.  
“Rachel, I think you would like to listen to this.”  
Rachel arched her eyebrow, “explain.” Daniel walked right to her side, leaned in and whispered the information. “Really? This might be interesting.” Rachel closed the screen of her laptop and accompanied Daniel. They took the elevator and with a swipe of a key card they accessed a room, it was barely lit and at the end of the hall there was another door. Daniel pressed some numbers in the panel to the right and swiped again his card. Once they were inside at the center of the room was a young man, probably in his 20’s. He was tied to the chair completely beaten to a pulp.  
“Hello Victor, I heard you have information regarding my parents, isn’t it?” Rachel stood in front of the man looking at him with disdain, like he was pure trash.  
“You tried to blackmail my assistant and by extension me. I am not into those kind of games Victor. But if you don’t waste my time I can forgive you, so speak.” Rachel waited, cold eyes drilling holes into that man skull.  
“I’m sorry; I made a mistake I swear I know nothing.” Vic babbled, his face was all bloody, still that didn’t affect Rachel at all.  
“Daniel could you please encourage him to talk?” At that, Daniel walked towards Vic, grabbed him by his shirt and punched him.  
“Okay okay stop. Maybe we can reach an agreement?” Vic was still playing games, and she hated games; well, except those games that involved Sarah Manning of course. She walked towards a tray with surgical equipment and took an empty syringe, “hold him” Rachel ordered, and then she buried the empty syringe on Vic’s neck.  
“Air embolism, call it my way of showing mercy Victor.” Vic was struggling but Daniel’s grip was steel.  
“Wait, WAAAIT. SARAH MANNING she is the responsible for your parents’ death!” Rachel stopped, she took out the needle and sighed, “no; stop lying Victor.” Rachel walked to get a more lethal and painful way to make him speak.  
“It’s the truth, we were there, the four of us, we were drunk and Maggie pushed her.” Vic blurted out and that made Rachel stop.  
Her heartbeat skip a beat for a second; in her mind she was screaming NO NO NO NO NO but the story was right, she turned around to face Daniel “get rid of him” and she walked out of that room.  
Once back in her office she returned to her desk and on her laptop she opened the file containing the video provided by Cosima. She watched again and her insides burned with the anger of seven hells. She checked again the database with the names of the suspects, looking for clues, a mistake, anything that proved that Sarah was not involved. She searched again with the police database and did a new list again and only then Rachel noticed that each of the people in Cosima’s list, were already dead. She started to laugh internally, she had been played, Cosima Niehaus protected the punk without knowing it. She has been fooled all this time by Sarah, she had to know who her parents were, who she was. She read again her file, the timeline made complete sense; she was a delinquent at the time and of course the change of heart after what she did. Everything matched.  
She took her cell phone and called, “Daniel, get Sarah Manning and make sure she doesn't go anywhere. Restrain her if it comes to that.”  
It was time to get her revenge, she was burning with anger yet there was something else she didn’t recognize, this emptiness in the depths of her soul, betrayal?, why did she felt so confused?.  
She was going to come to terms with Sarah Manning, which was the only thing she was sure, she was going to make her pay with blood.


	8. Chapter 8

Sarah woke up early to start working the next day, she was so tired but not for the wrong reasons, spending the previous day with Posh Bitch was exciting and scary. Sex with Rachel Duncan was something else, Sarah had been with others and yet, Rachel was like a firestorm; she was rough, commanding and intense. Rachel Duncan was vicious under the sheets; she hurt and had fun in a very different way. Sarah wanted to make sweet love to her, teach her how to care, to love, she wanted to stare into her eyes long and to feel her squirm in pleasure under her, but no. Rachel was anything but loving, so Sarah had to match her in intensity and desire or she was never going to survive, still, she could dream of the day that Rachel drop her defenses and let her in.  
“Shite.” Sarah knew this desire was because she was falling for her, and hard.  
She finished her shower, she put on her black leather pants and a black tank top; she grabbed her leather jacket from her hanger and got out.  
The day was pretty shitty already, it was cloudy and cold. She had delivered several documents to some corporations in the nearby area, and she still had other places to go. She headed to the Dyad office to pick up a package, once in the front desk the secretary handed her the box to be delivered. She put it inside her messenger bag, but before she hit the streets again she had to ask for her.  
“Oi! Is Miss Duncan available?” Sarah missed her so much already, just to see her for a couple of minutes would be fine with her.  
“Oh no Ms. Duncan is pretty busy at the moment, in the middle of a video conference. If you need anything Mr. Rosen can help you.” The woman explained politely.  
“No thanks, it’s nothin’.” Sarah walked out from the office and was back to work. Sarah was close to her next delivery address when she noticed at a coffee shop the blonde, Delphine. She stopped her current trajectory and went to meet the woman. She was seated alone, drinking tea and eating biscuits, the blonde curls were tamed by a ponytail today, which was a shame, Sarah thought. That French had one of the most beautiful hairs she had ever seen.  
“Delphine” Sarah waved her hand in greeting.  
“Oh bonjour Sarah, how are you?” The blonde smiled.  
“I’m all righ’ doing errands for Rachel. You are working in Dyad as well?” Sarah was wondering about the relationship of Delphine and Rachel.  
“Well I am currently working as laboratory assistant but when I conclude my PhD. I will work full time for them.” Delphine explained how Rachel was the one who managed to get her into the program, however Sarah knew that the young corporate woman never did anything without benefits.  
Sarah was enjoying the conversation with Delphine when her cellphone started to ring. She checked the screen, when she saw who it was she excused and picked up.  
“Daniel? What’s up?” Sarah heard what Rachel’s lap dog had to say.  
“I will deliver one more package and then I’ll go and meet you, yeah?” Sarah concluded the call.  
“It was nice talking to you Delphine but I got to go. Duty calls.”  
“Thanks for joining me; one can feel pretty lonely without friends here so thank you for stopping by.” Delphine smiled and waved goodbye.

 

Sarah delivered her last package and went to Rachel’s loft, where Daniel told her to meet him. She thought that they were done with her shit and today she was getting fired, however when Sarah arrived Daniel welcomed her to the loft and told her to wait, and wait and wait.  
“Why do I have to keep waiting? I mean, I can come tomorrow and talk with Posh Bitch if that is what she wants.” Sarah was getting anxious and a bit worried, Daniel’s attitude was weary, cautious and she didn’t know the reason.  
“You will stay where you are and wait Sarah, until Rachel comes you will stay right here.” Daniel sounded menacing.  
“All righ’ no need to get all bossy with me, yeah?” Sarah paced in the living room, bored as hell waiting; she really thought that Rachel was going to fire her.  
After hours of boredom the door finally opened, she heard the clip clop of Rachel’s heels.  
“Good, you came.” Rachel’s tone was icy cold, her eyes, two dark pits of nothingness.  
“Yeah, your dog had me here for hours, so if this is all about kicking me, trust me, there was no need to do all this shite.” Sarah seated on the couch kind of pissed and waited Rachel’s response.  
Rachel walked towards her, she snickered and Sarah had no clue what was so fun about this weird situation.  
“Oh Sarah, would you like tea?” Rachel sat in front of her, legs crossed, her back straight, arms folded neatly on her lap.  
“No thanks, what do you want?” Sarah leaned, arms on her tights, frowning at the girl in front of her.  
“Revenge.” The poisonous tone of her voice sent shivers down her spine. Sarah sat straighter now, her body tensing.  
“What do you-“  
“You lied! You did it. You. All this time looking for my parents killer and you were right in front of me.” Rachel’s control was slipping away, evident by the struggle to keep her voice even.  
Sarah stood up, arms up defensively, “Rachel wait, this is not, I mean, yeah, I fucked up. I wanted to tell you, it’s just-“  
“I won’t hear more lies, I just want payback. Daniel.” Rachel called. Immediately her right hand came into the room. “Take her to the bedroom and tie her.”  
“Woah, wait Rachel, what the fuck?” Daniel went for Sarah, she struggled but the man was strong. “Oi! Let me go you asshole, Rachel? What are you gonna do!? RACHEL!”  
Sarah kept fighting and in return she got punched hard, she lost consciousness and she fell on the floor.  
________  
Rachel waited until Daniel restrained the punk, when he came out of her bedroom she noticed his busted lip. That brought a small smile on her face; Sarah Manning wouldn’t be her if she didn’t go down without a fight.  
“Leave me alone.” She walked past Daniel and closed the door. Inside her bedroom she saw the punk unconscious on her bed, hands tied on the headboard, her left cheek turning purple. Rachel got closer to her and caressed her cheek, the punk who caused the accident was right here, on her bed, tied, and she was ready to make her pay, wasn’t she?

Sarah stirred, her moans of pain indicated that she was awaking. Rachel moved closer to the punk, she wanted to face her when she cut her piece by piece. “Tell me this one thing Sarah, did you plan to tell me any of this?” Rachel sat on the edge on the bed, starting into those eyes that made her burn.  
“Rachel I meant to tell you, I found out when you told me who you were. I’m sorry; you have no idea how that has been haunting me, you know? I’m not proud of my past; I have tried to be better though.” Sarah confessed, she continued “I was an addict and alcoholic with a shitty relationship, I was at the wrong place. The car came and I was just there, so yeah, I am the one who provoked it.” Sarah was so torn, Rachel could see that in her expression, her teary eyes making her feel pity, and that was wrong of her, she couldn’t feel a thing for this piece of trash.  
“Too late, they are dead, thanks to you.” Rachel took a knife from her night stand, when Sarah saw the blade she saw the fear “bloody hell Rachel, what the fuck are you going to do? You are going to kill me right here in your bed? Shit.”  
Rachel pressed the cold blade against the neck of Sarah, “Rachel stop, I will go to the police yeah? Just put that thing away.” Rachel slid the blade softly and the punk’s screams rattled the windows.  
“Rachel for fuck’s sake, look at me, LOOK AT ME!” Sarah demanded, her neck was bleeding, staining her sheets. The place where they slept the night before. Then she dared to look at her. She saw the pleading in her eyes, the regret, the remorse and the… what on earth was she seeing?  
“I didn’t tell you because I was scared to be alone, I didn’t want to lose you, so I kept my mouth shut, and that is the truth. Just wanted to be clear before you fucking gut me like a fish.”  
Yes, that was the truth, Rachel saw it in her eyes and that was killing her. Her resolve going to hell, she was not capable of hurting her, not like she wanted to. Sarah was tough, the physical pain was not going to mean anything, however she had the need to burn this thing that was driving her mad. She kissed her madly, and when Sarah returned the kiss she slapped her. With the knife she ripped the punk’s shirt open, she left the knife on the night stand and pulled Sarah’s pants.  
“You won’t move, you won’t speak, consider this my reprieve. If I ever see you again, I won’t hesitate to kill you.” Rachel straddled the punk and fucked her, just like one of her whores. Grinding her hard, no feelings involved, just a mechanical movement of her hips against the brunette. Rachel didn’t even dare to look at her or touch her, Sarah was just warm flesh. And that’s why she had the need to treat her like that, or else she would have crumbled into tears a while ago, and no way in hell she was going to be weak in front of Sarah. She was going to erase Sarah Manning from her life, the memories of her soft skin, her morning kisses, her arm over her; she was going to burn it all until there were nothing but ashes, and when she came she trembled against Sarah’s sweaty body but she didn’t moan, she bit her lip hard until it bled, she was making sure to show that ho that she was being used for one purpose only, her own satisfaction. When she was done, she got off of the bed, cut lose the rope and walked away, to wash the filthiness from her body, the sweetness of Sarah’s body once and for all.  
_____  
Sarah sat on the bed, tears streamed down her face, her neck was hurting, but her heart was burning. She felt disgusted, dirty and in pain. Rachel had never ever looked at her like she just did, that coldness and disdain that characterized her never aimed at her except today. She found out the truth and now she paid the price. Sarah was pretty sure that Rachel Duncan would have killed her on the spot, if she hadn’t care for her. The ice princess had feelings for her and she didn’t know it, because Rachel had no clue what was to love or feel loved. And that’s why this hurt like a bitch, Rachel had feelings for her without even realizing it and Sarah knew she blew everything up by lying. Sarah put on her pants, fastened her belt and took her leather jacket from the chair where she left it and put it on securely over her tore shirt. She heard the shower, meaning Rachel was cleaning herself. She wasn’t an idiot; Rachel meant it when she said she was going to kill her. Sarah ignored the need to see her and explain herself again. She walked out of that flat for the last time in her life.

She kept walking with no idea what to do now, she couldn’t stay here in England, she had to disappear, to run away; she was good at running, she ran a lot in her past, avoiding responsibilities, hurting her foster mother and twin in the process. But to avoid Rachel she had to go far away, nonetheless tonight she couldn’t go home like this, looking like shit and hurt. Sarah kept thinking what to do when suddenly she had an idea.

“Mon dieu! What happened to you Sarah?” The French blonde asked as soon as she opened the door.  
Sarah didn’t want to go back home in this state, much less send Helena in a rampage because of her messed up life. Instead, she came to Delphine Cormier, the woman seemed to be nice and she might offer help.  
“Yeah, sorry about appearing here out of nowhere, but I didn’t know where to go.” Sarah felt bad for involving this woman into her troubles; however she needed a friendly hand right now.  
“Non, don’t worry, please come in. Let me get the first aid kit. There is tea in the kitchen. Make yourself at home.” Delphine let in the punk into her loft, she went back to the bathroom while Sarah sat at the kitchen table; Sarah drank a cup of tea and the warmth help her ease the tension. When Delphine returned she had the items in her hand.  
“So, what happened? Are you in trouble? I mean, if you want to talk please do so.” Delphine gave her a reassuring smile.  
“I fucked up badly. Have you ever done something so stupid for love?” Sarah spoke while the French tended her wound, however she didn’t expect Delphine to chuckle.  
“Oh you have no idea, I did the stupidest thing in my life. Let me tell you first a story about a Biology teacher and her student…”  
And so Sarah listened how she fell in love with the wrong person in the wrong time, the way she fell so hard for that girl, and her ultimate sacrifice to let her live a happy life.  
“Bloody hell; that is pretty fucked up. I had no clue you were her teacher. I mean, I made the connection because you really look like a French puppy, and that’s all she talked about with Helena, but it never crossed my mind you were her teacher at the time. Shit.” Sarah took more tea, thinking about how miserable Delphine was now that she had to keep her distance from Cosima.  
“Oui, the things one does for love. At least I know she will be fine. She is clever and cheeky, so I trust she will succeed.” Delphine finished patching her up.  
“Well, at least you didn’t kill her parents like I did.” Sarah sighed; she buried her face in her hands trying to hide her shame and pain.  
“Qui? Are you talking about Rachel? As far as I know it was an accident.” Delphine listened the troubled girl.  
“Yeah, an accident caused by me. I was in the middle of the street and they crashed because of it. I lied to her about it and now she knows the truth and hates me with a burning passion. Which of course, was a huge mistake lying in the first place once I knew who she was, but at the same time hurts because I kind of fell in love with a psycho.” Sarah had to get out all of this feelings from her chest. At least, she thought Delphine could offer her some advice.  
Delphine did a quick search on her laptop and read the news regarding that accident.  
“Well, all information claims it was because the driver was over the speed limit. That’s why he couldn’t avoid the crash, the driver lost control of the car and you could have died. The police information states that if the man drove at the speed limit he could have pushed the brakes in time or even dodge you, but because of the excess speed he wasn’t able to maneuver and lost control. Sarah, you are not responsible for any of this. It was unfortunate, but you shouldn’t blame yourself for that.” Delphine tried to ease the broken girl; she could at least help this kid and do for her what she couldn’t do anymore for Cosima.  
“That doesn’t matter, she won’t see me again, I mean, she was willing to slash my neck; that Posh Bitch is resentful as fuck, she won’t forgive me and I need to get the hell out of here. To start again somewhere safe, away from her.” Sarah knew that was her only choice, Rachel was dangerous for real, and she couldn’t do anything to atone for what she did.  
“If what you need is distance, I think I can help with that.” Delphine typed in her laptop for several minutes, and then she turned to face Sarah. “You can stay here Sarah, and know I wrote to my previous landlord while I stood in San Francisco. I think he can help you look for a place to stay.” Delphine prepared the couch for Sarah and brought a blanket and a pillow. Once she finished setting up the improvised bed, she left Sarah alone in the living room to provide some privacy and time to think.  
“San Francisco? Last time it was wonderful, besides Helena loves it there. I think that sounds really good. Moving to San Francisco and let this feelings disappear once and for all” Sarah thought loudly. She tried to sleep, but the heaviness in her heart didn’t allow it. She still remembered the cold manner in which Rachel banged her, so distant, far away from her reach. She had never felt like a piece of meat like in that precise moment. Rachel Duncan had fucked her and used her like a tool, and that was the worst revenge she could have planned. Sarah could deal with the physical pain, even death, but to be fucked and be treated like an object, to giving a shite about her feels. That was the worst. That was the way Rachel did business, cold and detached. How on earth did she end up developing feelings for her? Sarah had no idea, and she probably was never going to find out why. This was a sick game of destiny and she hated it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SPOILERS for Thorns 2, just a heads up.

And so Sarah Manning moved away with her twin to San Francisco, the city where they reunited and where she met Posh Bitch for the first time. Sarah kept her feelings to herself, not talking about the disaster that went with Rachel, she just told her foster mother that she had a great job opportunity and she took it. At least, that was a better explanation than saying that she infuriated the ice princess of the Dyad Corporation by lying to her, right after entangling in a weird relationship with her which ended in the worst way possible.  
Sarah found a job at an auto repair shop; it seems her years as a delinquent paid off by learning a lot about car mechanics and stuff. She earned good money and Helena was also pretty happy in the city. It seems destiny was smiling at her again; however the scorch marks left by Rachel in her heart were still burning. She had to fight hard to push those desires away or else she was going to be sad as hell.

In London, Rachel Duncan remained the same cold bitch; she was only business and worked efficiently. She travelled all around the world closing deals with clients and making the Dyad Group one of the best scientific companies worldwide. And yet, the emptiness she felt drove her insane, she had no clue how to manage this thing she felt inside of her, why the absence of that punk hurt her so much? She never thought of herself capable of feeling things, but that stupid animal made her insides burn not just with desire but with something else she was afraid to name. She knew she was gone from England, that was what Daniel told her but she didn’t ask for more details, she wanted to rip apart the remnants of that girl from her insides and forget her. On her loneliest nights she simply had to call her usual place and she was going to be catered regarding her sexual desires, however she did notice that she ended asking only for brunettes. She had to recognize that all she did was replace her punk with other whore, and that was never going to be enough. She missed her, but she was going to erase her from her life, Sarah Manning was an issue she had to deal with once and for all.

The days passed, the clock kept ticking without stopping, lives moved on; however the ashes remained inside their souls. Months became years and the girls turned into women, each one being successful in their respective careers.  
Ten years have gone by now, Rachel Duncan kept leading the Dyad Institute into greatness while Sarah Manning became her own boss. Sarah opened a couple of years ago her own business: Ying and Yang Auto Repair. Her sister Helena and Mrs. S helped her and together they had a wonderful life. Sarah even had a kid, she had a brief relationship with a man who was an IT expert from Silicon Valley, but Sarah was too volatile, too demanding, too burnt, always on the move so things got messy and they split, however Sarah kept their kid. Kira Manning. Kira was Sarah’s motivation to keep moving forward, to be the best mom she could be for her daughter. And yet, for all the love in the universe she had for her kid, there was a part of her that missed that girl she met in the city years ago, a girl who had all the power and money in the world but who lacked the love. A love that the punk still had for her.

 

“What do you mean Dr. Cormier?” Rachel sat at her desk in her office in Canada, the Dyad Institute had labs all around the world but she decided it was for the best to move to Toronto and work here since Cambridge was too full of memories that she preferred to keep buried in her mind.  
“I need to go back to San Francisco; a friend has passed away. I know that this is not the best time since we are about to complete the new stem cell line, but I assure you that the team can work that without my presence.” Delphine was definitely sad. Rachel was amazed by the dedication and investment of Dr. Delphine Cormier, top immunologist and eugenicist of their Institute. Dr. Cormier developed incredible research techniques and designed so many new protocols that it was unbelievable the sheer talent of the woman. Rachel was right to bring her here.  
“But of course Dr. Cormier, how can I deny such a request from our interim director. San Francisco you said?” Rachel arched her eyebrow, it couldn’t possibly be Cosima, that sadness had to do with someone else, Rachel assumed.  
“Oui, your AP government teacher Ms. Fitzsimmons passed away. I was working hard on this stem cell line precisely to help her. But I am late. She became a great friend to me, we kept in contact after all this years and she told me about the disease that took her life.” Delphine was really devastated by this, but she kept her composure.  
“Ms. Fitzsimmons was indeed a great teacher. How can I forget the incredible classes, particularly when she made me work with that… anyway, I shall join you Dr. Cormier. Don’t worry about anything; the company’s private plane will take us there in no time.” Delphine thanked Rachel and went back to the lab. 

Rachel kept working for a couple more hours rescheduling some conference calls and meetings she had for the next couple of days. She wanted to join Dr. Cormier to San Francisco to say goodbye to Ms. Fitzsimmons. She had to be around 35, more or less the same age of Delphine. That had to be a devastating disease if she died so young. In the prime of her adulthood, besides she wanted to see Aldous. It’s been a while since she saw the man who was a friend to her parents. This was going to be a small trip to memory lane.

The flight to San Francisco only took them 5 hours. Rachel decided to come alone and leave Daniel in charge while she was doing this personal errand. She could see Delphine tensing up; after all, ten years ago she left someone in this place and in tears, Cosima Niehaus, the love of her life no doubt. As far as she knew, the woman spent all this time deep in work and climbing the ranks inside the Dyad Institute, now being the interim director. However she could see how the immunologist fought to hide the huge hole she had in her heart. And Rachel wished she could say she didn’t know how it felt, but that would be a complete lie. She had been a stupid girl, she fell into the trap of that punk rock ho she met precisely in this same city. Her bubblegum breath, the bloody knuckles, her smug face, things that she couldn’t forget, and god, did she try.  
Rachel Duncan fell in love; it took her a long time to realize that, she was scared to admit it, but now? She had nothing to lose, so why not admit it once and for all. She loved Sarah Manning against a wall, in the shower, against the windows; name the place and they would probably banged there as well. She loved the warmth she felt when they just cuddled together, and it was something she missed dearly, but she had to be the robot bitch she was and threatened to kill her, after all Sarah did cause that accident. Well, she was partially to blame.  
How many times did she watch the footage of that crash? Sarah was right, she changed for good. Something good came from that. But Rachel knew she was never going to be good, she was a villain, if it wasn’t for her power she would be right now in jail. How ironic was this? Sarah became a better woman, she became a terrible one.

Once they arrived Rachel took one of the cars used by the company to take her and Delphine to their hotel. Rachel was going to stay here for a week in order to give the good doctor time to do her mourning and meet Aldous, she could always squeeze business but for now she just wanted to relax at least for a bit. She didn’t remember the last time she took vacations, like real vacations.  
Once they arrived to the hotel, Rachel guided Delphine to her room while she installed herself in the suit. She walked immediately to the windows; she touched the glass and closed her eyes. This was the same hotel where they met; right down in the elevator that punk held her against the wall ready to kick her arse, actually she did end with a bruise on her cheek. She opened her eyes again, the beautiful view feeding her senses, she took a look around, this was her life, she was alone and it was sad.

The day of the burial arrived, Rachel wore today a black suit, very simple but elegant, she couldn’t help but be fancy all the time. Delphine was also wearing black, her blonde curls were loose and her countenance was gloomy. They arrived on time and Delphine offered her sympathies to the family of her dear friend. The ceremony was short and Rachel noticed how many students of hers where here, how loved she had to be. Rachel had to wonder if she died, who would come to say goodbye to her? She didn’t have friends not a lover, she had no one else.  
“Always kind of late, always kind of sorry” Rachel heard Delphine said out loud, when she raised her sight then she understood. Cosima Niehaus, her ex-classmate and the eternal turmoil of her scientist arrived, and by the look on her face she clearly saw them too. Delphine was froze in place, her eyes glued to the not happy girl, still Rachel was bored and she really wanted to have some fun, so she walked towards the dreadlocked woman.  
“Well, if this is not a big surprise. Cosima Niehaus, it’s been a long time.” Rachel smiled all business.  
“Yeah. Ditto. Obvs.” Cosima pushed her glasses on top of the bridge of her nose.  
“I heard you are starting your PhD. Congratulations.”  
“Sure thing.”  
“Dr. Cormier!” Rachel called, Delphine approached them cautiously. “I believe you remember Cosima, yes?” Rachel was enjoying this too much.  
“Oui, I do. Bonjour Cosima.” Delphine tried to play it smooth, but Rachel could feel the nervousness in her voice, the fear of rejection in her eyes.  
Cosima raised her eyebrows “Doctor?” she snorted, “I see you fulfilled your dreams after all Dr. Cormier.” The sting in her voice, the hurt in the eyes of the dreadlocked woman; how entertaining was this.  
“Co-si-ma” Delphine called but the other girl was already moving away.  
“Let her go Dr. Cormier. It’s been a while for both. We better go back.”

Rachel drove them back to the hotel when the car started to have problems and they were forced to stop. “This is just great. You might take a taxi while I wait for the tow truck.” Rachel put on her aviators while she waited, the sun was burning her, and the heat was asphyxiating.  
“I’ll take a walk Rachel; I need to clear my mind.” Delphine waved goodbye and left the tiny woman to her own demise. After several minutes the car finally was taken to a nearby car shop. Rachel preferred to go and grab lunch first while the mechanic fixed her car. So she went to an Italian restaurant and had a delicious antipasto salad with bocconcini and green-olive tapenade and a glass of wine. Once again she noticed how lonely she was, if she wasn’t eating with other investors she was usually by herself. Always a reservation for one. She was really pathetic. Once she paid she took a taxi to the car shop to see what on earth was going on with the car.  
“Ying and Yang Auto Repair. How original.” Rachel read the business name out loud mocking the ridiculousness of it. She moved past the main office to the workshop since there was no one around. The radio was playing music when suddenly she recognized the song:  
If you want my future, forget my past  
If you wanna get me, better make it fast  
Now don’t go wasting my precious time  
Get your act together, we could be just fine  
I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want  
So tell me what you want, what you really really want  
I wanna (huh) I wanna (huh) I wanna (huh) I wanna (huh)  
I wanna really really really wanna zig a zig ah  
Rachel rolled her eyes, this city was insisting on reminding her about her days as Posh Spice. She noticed two legs under the car, the jumper suit was all greasy and dirty, the sound of tools against metal.  
“Excuse me.” Rachel announced her presence to the probably fat guy under the car. She heard a thud, the mechanic probably got startled by her and hit his head.  
“Shite!” Actually that sounded like a woman. Rachel sighed, she crossed her arms and waited until the mechanic got out under the car.  
“Sorry about that, yeah? What can I-“  
When Rachel saw who it was her heart paralyzed for a second, her eyes couldn’t believe it, but she was not imagining things, it was her, the punk rocker who made her burn the most, Sarah Manning.  
“Bloody hell.”


	10. Chapter 10

“Rachel?” Sarah couldn’t believe it, but it was her, that posh bitch she left 10 years ago to start again. To bury her memory and move on, but here she was. Destiny was probably laughing at her with a Surprise Bitch, I bet you thought you’ve seen the last of me.  
“This is unexpected.” Rachel quickly composed herself, her walls were up and running.  
“Yeah, totally. I guess you are the lady who was bitching about this ride huh?” Sarah cleaned her greased hands in a towel, her face was dirty was well, her hair was hidden under a blue cap that matched her jumpsuit.  
“Yes, probably.” Rachel kept examining her under those sultry eyelashes.  
“Your Jag XJ8 has a problem of overheating; the cylinder suffered some damage so the engine consumed the oil too fast. It’s a common problem but I can fix it.” Sarah turned off the radio, unzipped the upper part of her jumpsuit, and pulled it off from her torso, revealing her The Clash tshirt. Rachel kept staring her sweaty arms, drinking her tanned skin, probably by the constant exposition to the sun.  
“Very well, when is it going to be ready?” Rachel was showing impatience, Sarah didn’t know if it had to do with the awkward of their situation or she was running late for an appointment.  
“Couple of days, I’ll repair it as soon as possible.” Sarah couldn’t avoid looking at her legs, if Rachel Duncan had something alluring besides those shark eyes were those damn legs, under her fancy black skirt. It seemed time was benevolent to the ice princess, she looked hot as fuck.  
“Good. I’ll call later.” Rachel turned around to walk away when another voice made her stop in her tracks.  
“Mum?”  
Sarah turned around to greet her daughter, “hey monkey, mum’s kinda busy now, where is auntie Helena?” Sarah hugged her daughter who was her reason to smile every single day.  
_______  
Rachel was wide eyed, shocked to see Sarah and the kid, her daughter. Something inside of her stirred.  
“Auntie Helena told me she was going to eat before work.” The little girl kept smiling.  
“Really? All righ’ wait here monkey I need to talk business with her, yeah?” Sarah kissed in the forehead the little girl, “this is, this was a, I mean, the customer is a friend, so don’t worry Kira.” Sarah went away to speak with her twin.  
Rachel was curious, she needed to know as much as she could, particularly if Sarah was happily married, because that was bothering her a lot.  
“Hello, you are Sarah’s daughter, yes?” Rachel got closer and sat beside the girl. She nodded in response.  
“And your name is Kira?” Rachel asked. The girl nodded again.  
“My name’s Rachel Duncan and your mom once laid hands on me. Do you know what that means?” The girl shook her head.  
“It means that she was very nice to me. In a friendly way.” Rachel was offering too much information now. Rachel had to change subjects before she messed up. Kira seemed to be quick in her thinking as well.  
“I remember your name, Rachel Duncan from the Dyad Institute. My mum keeps your business card in her special box.”  
Rachel arched her eyebrows, “A business card? Is that correct?” The girl nodded in agreement. If that was the same card she handed that ho 10 years ago she was going to melt right on the spot.  
“Anyway, is your father around?” Rachel had to be sneaky, she was not going to admit it but she was dying of jealousy already. She needed to know if Sarah was with someone right now.  
“No, Cal comes to see me every weekend.” And in that moment Rachel breathed in relief, Sarah was probably divorced or separated and that was the best news she ever heard.  
“Oi monkey, go with Auntie Helena, she have lots of jello.” The girl smiled and quickly went inside the office.  
“Sorry if my daughter bothered you.” Sarah put her hands inside her jumpsuit pockets. She didn’t have her right scalp braided anymore, which was a shame, Rachel thought.  
“Not at all. Kira is a very nice girl.” Rachel stood up from the chair and walked towards Sarah, “we need to talk. I won’t kill, yet.” Rachel purred.  
“Well shit, that is very comforting princess.” Sarah was her old smug self. Bitchy as ever.  
“Remember when we met?” Sarah nodded in affirmation. “Good, I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Rachel walked away with a smile on her face.

That day she couldn’t sleep, she kept thinking about Sarah Manning, her woman, because no matter how much time has passed, Sarah belonged to her. The scar she had on her neck, made by that knife was clearly visible and that send a jolt of electricity to her body. Rachel was ecstatic to see that woman again, but she also understood that there were a lot of things they needed to talk about. So much hurt and pain that went between them. Rachel needed to clear her feelings, she was attracted to the woman, that was a fact but does she loves her? Does Sarah love her back? So many questions she had, and soon she was going to get answers.  
_______  
“I have no clue what to do S. She is back and I don’t know if I want her in my life. But I still like her” Sarah drank tea with Mrs. S, she was so confused. The night was silent without Helena and Kira who went to the grocery store to buy donuts.  
“Well chicken, you never talked much about your personal life, but I know you were invested in that girl. Your face said it all. Then you decided to move to the US without any explanation, however I suspected it had to do with that posh girl.”  
“Yeah, Rachel was the reason I left, because she found I was responsible for her parents death, remember those scientists? It’s all really fucked up.” Sarah raked her hands on her long hair, a bit of frustration in her voice.  
“Love, you were at the wrong place at the wrong time, you know that. But that had to be surprising for that girl. She seems really untrustworthy though. However you know what is best for you and Kira.” Mrs. S lifted from the chair, kissed her foster daughter on her head and went to her bedroom.  
Sarah sighed, she went to her room as well and opened her box where she stored her important stuff, she took out from there the business card she carried since that posh bitch gave it to her. She traced it with her fingers; she never stopped thinking about her, not even when she was with Cal. Rachel Duncan was an ice princess, a woman from a different world, she ran away from her and destiny brought them together again. Could there be forgiveness for both, could Rachel be capable of letting go of her grudges? Could Sarah condone what Rachel did? They were literally messed up women, which was the only thing that Sarah was sure of.  
Sarah lay on her bed with the card in her hand, playing with it between her fingers. If she were to go to meet her, was she going to make it out alive? There was so much shit they needed to discuss. Ten years of holding resentment, ten years of wanting her. Sarah was in deep shit.  
Sarah rolled on her bed all night, she was sweating and uncomfortable, she couldn’t stop fantasizing about Rachel’s legs in that black skirt. Rachel looked damn hot, and it was obvious she wasn’t over that woman. Sarah shook her head and walked to the restroom, she washed her face with the cold water and then she went to the garage. She was not going to sleep anytime soon, so she did what gave her rest, fixing cars. Even when she couldn’t settle her mind at least working with machines allowed her to focus and forget all her shit. Sarah just put a jacket and walked towards her garage, which was a block away from her house.  
Sarah lost herself in the complexity of mechanics for hours, she was already dirty with oil and grease, the smell felt already so familiar to her. She traced the chassis of Rachel’s car. So elegant and unattainable. With 340 HP, a 3.0 liter V6 engine, 19’ alloy wheels. A total beauty, but the inside was the best: Ivory seats with soft grain leather, the veneer made of carbon fiber and the audio system was almost orgasmic. This reflected the woman behind the wheel, who was just as chic and exquisite as her car. Rachel Duncan was a woman with a lot of money, she could have put a bullet in her head and nobody was going to be able to blame her for it. Sarah cleaned her dirty hands with a cloth; she checked once more her work and closed the garage. She walked once again back to her home, the night was warm, the moon hid behind the clouds, she kept walking trying to make sense of her life.  
_____  
“I can’t return to Dyad Rachel, at least not for now. I need to make things right. Besides, it seems that for one mysterious reason my best friend is here in the city as well and I would like to spend some time with her.” Delphine barely touched her breakfast, it seemed that the doctor was trying to make peace with Cosima after all the trouble they went through, all because of her. Rachel had to admit that she was a real bitch, she destroyed the love between these women, and she alone was guilty of hurting them. How could she judge Sarah when she kept doing this kind of crap every single day of her life? Rachel knew she was a terrible human being, so she had no more option than let Dr. Cormier do as she wanted.  
“You deserve vacations Dr. Cormier, you have worked non-stop. I’ll let Dr. Bowles know so she can lead the team to conclude all the pending projects during your absence.” Rachel before heading to the suit added, “I just hope you find whatever you are looking for Dr. Cormier.” Rachel gave her a smile and returned to her room, she washed her teeth, fixed her lipstick and prepared to meet Aldous.

 

The halls of the school where she spent several months during her youth were exactly the same, she remembered the government classes with Cosima, she had so much fun with her, she provided so much debate, Cosima was a great thinker and it was such a pleasure to speak with the likes of her. Ms. Fitzsimmons encouraged her to do her best, she appreciated the concern of the woman. Being honest, she would have liked to meet a teacher like Dr. Cormier. Not because she fell in love with Cosima, simply because she cared so much for her, she was there when she needed her and sacrificed so much for her. No one did that for Rachel. The closest she had to a father was Daniel, that’s how pathetic her life had been.  
She announced herself with the secretary and she let her in to Aldous office, Rachel smiled at the sight of Aldous Leekie and kissed him in both cheeks.  
“Hello Aldous, it’s been a while. I see you are still managing this high school.” Rachel seated and crossed her legs. Aldous looked much old now, more wrinkles around his eyes, same white hair on his scalp.  
“I see you are doing well, that makes me happy. And did you conclude that business you came here to do?” Aldous squinted his eyes; Rachel knew what he meant by that, of course he would ask about that.  
“That thing turned to be more complex than I originally thought. At least Dr. Cormier has done an incredible work for the Institute.” Rachel was not going to say how terrible it went. How she develop feelings for the culprit of her parents death, how after all this time she still missed her warm body on her bed.  
“I see, so Delphine got her doctorate? Well done I suppose. Everything went as planned after all.” Aldous smiled. They kept talking for a long time and when Rachel noticed the time, she said her goodbye and returned to the hotel.

Rachel took a long bubble bath; her body was extremely tense, just thinking about all the possibilities of her conversation with that woman, the punk who drove her insane. She let her head rest on a small pillow and she closed her eyes, she drifted slowly into a slumber, the brunette feeling her mind, her hand traveling over the mound of her breast, she pinched her nipple exhaling softly, thinking on the rough hands of Sarah, she moaned, thinking how calloused they must be by the hard work at the garage shop; she parted her lips, her tongue traced her lower lip and then she bit it. The moan increased her arousal and her hand pressed harder. It has been too long for her, no amount of fucking whores could deliver what she needed, the release only Sarah provided. No one laid hands her, except Sarah Manning. She realized that too late, however she had another chance. She was heading here, and they were going to come to terms once and for all.


	11. Chapter 11

Sarah put her daughter to sleep and then she hit the shower, she washed the oil and dirt from a long’s day work and then she realized where she was going. To meet her.  
Rachel Duncan was the best and the worst thing that happened in her life. She had never seen someone so full of shit as her, and yet, she was so damn attracted to Posh Bitch; ten years later and she could lose sleep because of those damn legs.  
Sarah brushed her hair, put on her leather jacket and went to her demise. She had to be strong, Sarah knew she couldn’t let that ice princess get the upper hand. This was going to be a decisive night. Maybe she was going to get out alive from this, maybe not.

 

She took a deep breath before knocking the door, a couple of minutes later Rachel opened the door to her suite. Red lips curved in front of her, “Sarah Manning, please come in” Rachel gave access to the punk. She was wearing a very expensive designer suit, black heels and her hair flawless as usual.  
“So, let’s talk” Sarah walked past her and took a seat. Rachel walked slowly, swaying her hips in a very alluring way; she sat and crossed her legs, her posture perfect.  
“All righ’ if we’re gonna talk then I-“  
“I apologize.”  
Sarah raised her eyebrows, her mouth was still open but not a word came out of it. She was expecting everything but that, not in this life or the next she thought she was going to hear an apology from Rachel Duncan. Sarah frowned, trying to figure the plan of Posh Bitch, she completely dismantled her defenses with this action. Rachel was a very intelligent woman, a strategist. She played all possibilities like a chess player and now it was Sarah’s turn to play.  
“Shite.” That was all she could articulate.  
Rachel tilted her head slightly, eyes on her, “Is that all? Well, I suppose I might have overreacted that night. That was a moment of weakness, it won’t happen again.”  
“You might?” Sarah snorted, “if you call almost slicing my neck overreacting then yeah, you might. I had to run away you psychotic bitch. I should have told you about your parents though. I was sorry, still am, but you, you just bark orders, you simply seek revenge and that was it.. Did you ever feel anything for me?” Sarah let go of the guilt, or at least most of it, but her pain and hurt not for a long time.  
“Yes, we both made terrible choices and we need to amend that so I suggest a truce.” Rachel offered her a folder, when Sarah opened it she read a new agreement for this truce she was proposing. Sarah raked her hands through her hair in frustration.  
“Are you kidding me? Rachel, I’m not one of your employees, I’m not a business guy. I’m a bloody mechanic trying to make sense of this, and you offer me an agreement? This is not a bloody transaction; this is our lives we’re talkin’ about not a negotiation. Why are you so damn stiff? Why can you let for once lose control and let your feelings guide you? God damn it!” Sarah stood up from her chair, she was so damn pissed, her two hands were fisted, and she paced in the room like a caged animal.  
“Then what do you suggest?” Rachel asked calmly.  
Sarah was on the edge of madness, “shit, you really are an iceberg! Don’t you feel a thing? I see you and I burn on the inside, what do I suggest? To bang you over that table! Ten years and this is wha’ you wanna talk? I fucking fell for you like an idiot and I thought deep inside you felt the same. I ran away and tried to move on but I couldn’t. So yeah, I won’t make any truce because I can’t, I fucking hate to love you.” Sarah growled, she was done with this game, she let everything out. Rachel just stood there, thinking deeply, trying to convey into words the turmoil she had in her soul, but she didn’t say anything.  
Sarah sighed, her breaths were heavy, carrying the wait of so much pain and love and hate and so many things mixed together. “Nothin’?” Sarah wanted to get a reaction from her, anything that showed her that she was not a damn robotic bitch. “I’m done with you. It’s really time for me to let go. There’s nothing here for me nor my daughter.” Sarah took out from her jeans right pocket the business card she kept with her all this years. She tore it in half and let the pieces fall into the marble floor. Sarah turned around and walked away.  
“NO! you can’t leave me again” Rachel commanded; Sarah kept walking, “YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME AGAIN!” but Sarah was gone.

Sarah walked as fast as she could, she couldn’t deal with this, she was fire and Rachel was ice, she was never going to change, that was who she was, an ice princess. She kept walking with no direction, sad and desperate, she only wished she could see any kind of emotion from that woman, if only she let those damn walls down but Rachel was not easy. She had no clue if she cared for her or not, she really wanted to believe she did, but now she wasn’t so sure.  
Sarah kept walking distracted when she bumped someone.  
“Shit, sorry.” A woman with familiar dreads and glasses apologized.  
Sarah frowned “Cosima?”  
“Yeah, wait. You are…”  
“Sarah, Helena’s twin.” Sarah smiled in recognition.  
“Hey, yeah yeah, you are. Damn I’m so glad to see you. You wanna drink something?” Cosima grinned; it was such a weird spectacle to see how her hands moved so lively.  
“I sure need it.”

The two of them chatted in a small bar; Sarah drank bourbon and Cosima red wine. They chatted about random things for a while, when the conversation turned serious.  
“So what brought you here to the city?” Cosima sipped her beverage, eyes fixed on the punk.  
“I came here ten years ago actually. I had issues with... well Delphine helped me a lot. I met her in Cambridge and she gave me her hand when I needed it the most.” Sarah saw the tension when she mentioned the name.  
“She did? Dr. Cormier is full of surprises I guess.”  
Sarah wanted to help the French in the same way she did years ago. “She told me your story, you see, when I was your age I also fell in love with the wrong person.” Sarah told Cosima her story now, making sure to be as objective as possible, Rachel was not going to be an easy topic of conversation and she knew how Rachel ruined things for Cosima.  
“Dude, are you serious? Rachel? I would have never thought about that.”  
“Yeah that surprised me as well. You know? Both our stories began here, ten years later we’re back to give closure to them. They are going to come full circle. Rachel did what she did because of me. I was the punk she was looking. She came here because she knew you could help her.” Sarah gulped down the rest of her whiskey and asked for another one.  
“Shit, really? I gave her a wild goose chase; she was pretty obsessed with that info. I imagined she was up to no good so the list I gave her was of people who passed away. It was you? What were the odds?” Cosima immediately started to think deeper, “Manning? Shit, I had your profile dude, incredible.”  
“If it wasn’t for me stepping into that road Rachel would have never come here looking for your help, she wouldn’t have ruined your relationship with Delphine. This is pretty fucked up. We are connected in such a weird way.” Sarah drank more, she never gave too much thought to this, but now she realized how she affected other people’s life with her bad decisions.  
“Delphine made her own choices. Rachel made them as well. This is not your doing man.” Cosima was understanding, caring, a great friend.  
“Delphine did it to protect you, she cared for you, I think she still does. I don’t wanna tell you what to do but let her talk to you, give it closure once and for all. I did or at least tried.” Sarah finished the rest of her glass.  
“I moved on. I’m with someone wonderful now, that might not be wise. Nonetheless you’re right, I can’t move forward if I don’t close my past. How was it for you?” Cosima furrowed her brows in curiosity; she tilted her head a bit and her dreads cascaded on her side.  
“It sucked, Rachel is difficult, and she doesn’t show much emotion so it’s hard to read her. I have no clue if she cares for me or not. I can’t keep playing that game anymore. I tried to keep moving forward as well, I even had a kid, but it didn’t work with him. It’s like she branded me.”  
“Well fuck, we really have a lot of things in common, we both have terrible love stories to tell man. I should speak with Delphine, just listen to her and move on with my life. It’s the only way. Here, this is my contact info man, I wanna talk to Helena.” Cosima offered a card with her number and email address.  
“I will geek monkey. Good luck with Delphine and hope you can be happy with this new person.” Sarah said honestly. She paid for the drinks and hugged the other girl tightly.  
“Take care Cos and talk to you later.” Sarah said.  
“Yeah, you too.” Cosima waved goodbye and went away.  
______  
Rachel was a mess, she cried and then she wiped the tears like they were poison. She didn’t cry; she was Rachel Duncan. She looked at her reflection, eyes a bit red, breath out of control so she controlled herself, she was above those stupid women crying for love and desperation, she was always under control, she had to rein those feelings inside of her and get her shit together. Once she was done with her self-pity party she realized her current situation: alone in a huge suite.  
Sarah had bare her heart for her and she couldn’t say a thing in return, she wasn’t capable of telling her how she felt, she could deal with business not with matters of the heart, however she wanted to taste those lips, she dreamt of those hands over her body, but more than anything she wanted to spend her days in the company of that woman. She was tired of sleeping in a cold bed by herself, the moment Sarah Manning wrapped her into a protective shell in her youth, she knew she wanted her not just for the awesome mind-blowing sex but to love her and now, her daughter. Even though she still didn’t think she was capable of loving, she had no idea how. Nonetheless, the moment she saw that little girl she wished she was hers as well. She never thought about motherhood but that girl stirred something inside of her, the need to be a mother. She wanted her parents to be back so bad, to be a family again, that she missed the chance to make a family of her own with Sarah.  
Destiny was giving her a last chance, it was now her turn to do what she needed to do with the person who melted her cold heart; Sarah was her destiny, the destiny that burns the most.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another fic that comes to an end. Sorry if it felt kind of rushed or weird, but that's all the best I could come up with at the time. If you liked it or if it sucked all feedback it's still appreciated, in a respectful manner of course. I'm still a noob to what writing refers to so expect a lot of mistakes, I'm sill learning. If you read this with Thorns knowledge then you can expect certain scenes replay from Cophine's POV now that I'm going to start working on Falling Petals. If you have no idea what I'm talking about (which you should) then ignore this.  
> Thanks again for reading xx

Sarah didn’t return back home, she preferred to work in the garage instead. She blasted the radio, removed her leather jacket and started to work, she was almost done with Rachel’s car, and tonight she was more than ready to conclude this pending business once and for all.  
She took her tool box and grabbed the wrench; she opened the hood of the car and started to work on the engine. The feel of metal gave her security, this couldn’t hurt her, sometimes she could fix it, sometimes she couldn’t but at least she was safe here.  
She removed the screws and took out the defective piece. She opened the box with the replacement and started to install it. With the screwdriver she put together the new piece of equipment, she hammered the left side to put it into proper place and with the wrench she fixed the biggest screw.  
“Shit!” The grease of her hands made her lose the grip on the wrench and when she tried to get it she ended up cutting her hand. The red liquid seeped through the gash; Sarah took a piece of cloth she had hanging on the wall and wrapped her hand with it. She kneeled on the floor and tried to pick up the tool, however she had to slide under the car to be able to pick it up.  
“I saw the lights on and-“  
BUMP!  
“Bloody hell!” Sarah got out of under the car, her hand on her forehead. The bump formed quickly on her head. “Could you please announce yourself before getting in here? You scared the hell out of me you know? It’s past midnight and you are entering my damn garage uninvited.” Sarah said bitterly.  
“Yes I am aware of that Sarah.” Rachel seemed unapologetic, “but I had the need to discuss certain matters that couldn’t wait and I thought that maybe I could find you here.”  
Sarah chuckled “No shit. Anyway since you’re already here I’m done with your car, just gotta test it but it should work.”  
“Wonderful, but I came here for you not the car, besides I can buy a new one whenever I want.”  
Sarah rolled her eyes, “yeah you can, but this baby can outrun any of those new cars.” She smiled, her smug face in place, thumbs inside the pocket of her jeans. “Allow me to show you Ms. Duncan.” Sarah grabbed the car keys and disabled the alarm, the car latch opened, Sarah was going to open the door when Rachel got in her way, “I told you I came here for you.”  
“Rachel I can’t do this anymore, we will only end up hurting each other, let’s keep this…professional, yeah?” Sarah tried to sound reasonable, but that was hard when the other woman was now so close that she could smell her perfume.  
“I am not playing Sarah, you belong to, I mean, with me. I understand you wish I was different, I wish I knew how to tell you what you make me feel. I really don’t know how to do this.” She was just one breath away, Sarah saw her struggle, her ice princess trying to show emotion and that was enough, she loved and desired this posh bitch. She captured the nape of her neck and crushed her lips against the blonde, the kiss was an explosion of emotions, so much anger and frustration, hope and love.  
Sarah pushed her against the car, her greasy hands roamed over her body, ruining the designer dress of Rachel but she gave a damn, she probably had a million of those in her closet. Rachel kissed her wild, pushing her tongue inside, hands pulling at her shirt, the two were so thirsty for one another, the time seemed to stop when their bodies where entwined like this. Sarah moved to kiss the curve of her neck, nipping and pulling skin. Rachel let a moan escape, Sarah’s hands pulled the blazer from her torso ripping the buttons apart, once the skin was exposed her hands moved all around her body, leaving traces of oil, blood and dirt. Sarah kissed her lips once more; Rachel pushed her against the wall hard and tore her shirt with a savage force that kind of shocked Sarah.  
“Holy shit, calm your tits Rachel, I love this shirt!” Sarah was goofing around now, trying to catch her breath as well.  
“Shut up and kiss me.” Rachel pulled the brunette to her and the exchange of kisses continued, however they needed a spot to do the do right away or Sarah was going to combust.  
“The car.” Sarah said between kisses.  
“What?” Rachel kept looking at Sarah, confusion all over her face.  
“Have you ever done it in a car? I know that might be tacky but I won’t make it to the hotel if we keep going on like this.”  
“Car sounds good.”  
And just like that pieces of clothing flew to the floor and in a second both were in the backseat.  
Sarah had to admit that doing it in a Jaguar’s backseat was pretty sexy, it was also comfortable, now more than ever she was going to fight Rachel to keep this damn car. Sarah made sure to take her time eating this woman inch by inch, savoring her like her favorite dessert, licking and enjoying the delicious flavor that was Rachel Duncan.  
The car was so hot inside, windows pretty foggy, the smell of sex and sweat filling her senses. Sarah was holding Rachel between her arms, both were silent. Here they were, back again to square 1. Sarah kissed her temple, “I should take you back to your hotel, you need to wash all the blood and car oil and rest properly.” Sarah whispered.  
“Only if you join me. But first you need to take care of that hand, look at that cloth it’s all drenched in your blood. ” Rachel sounded worried, but excited nonetheless.  
“Fair enough.”

Back in the hotel room they washed each other and banged in the hot shower, if they didn’t do it in the shower that would be a missed opportunity. Then they took their make-out session to the bed, Sarah was on top of Rachel controlling the situation, Rachel was a thunderstorm between sheets, however Sarah wanted to take it slow tonight, to really enjoy her. They could rip each other every other day, tonight she was going to make sweet love to Rachel.  
Sarah kissed her softly, careful to keep her on edge, surprising her with roughness and sweetness. She was going to make her beg, she kissed every curve, every freckle on her skin, and she licked and sucked her breasts, giving those puppies the attention they deserved. Sarah knew no one touched her like this, Rachel didn’t allow it, so being here like this was a gift and she was going to show her appreciation to the max.  
_________  
Rachel lost count of the times she came, Sarah had took her time with her and her hunger for the other woman was satiated for now. It was a different sensation to spend so much time with someone who could make you vulnerable. Sarah was her weakness, she was going to let her do as she wished, she was going to please her with whatever she wanted. She had money, she had power, she was going to deliver the world in a silver platter to Sarah if that’s what she wanted. However she also knew Sarah was going to ask of her other things, not material and that was scary. Better sleep for now and see what the morning brought.

 

She opened her eyes, the sunlight filtered through the curtains, she had no idea what time it was, but it was probably early, the room was silent; Rachel believed she had dreamt of Sarah, that everything was in her imagination, when she felt someone stir behind her. An even breath tickled her on the back and a warm bandaged hand rested over her hip bone. Now she was sure it did happen, that the punk rock ho was sleeping with her. Rachel slid to the edge of the bed careful to not wake up the woman beside her. She put on a robe and called room service to ask for her breakfast. She ordered something for Sarah to offer her food when she awakes. More domestic than this it couldn’t get. Rachel tried to picture this every single day of her life. Waking up beside Sarah Manning, having breakfast with her, going to DYAD to do her usual work and return to find this woman in her home. Rachel reflected deep, this was going to be a huge change, and yet she wanted this, a family of her own, she could learn how to love and Sarah could teach her.

When Sarah woke up she saw the most wonderful sight: disheveled, marks all over her skin (signs of her possession), kind of sleepy, groggy, she smiled at her, “good morning, please have some breakfast.”  
“Thanks.” Sarah first walked to greet her, she pecked her lips softly and only then she sat to eat, “this looks good.” Sarah took a bite of her waffle; she chewed with animosity and drank orange juice. Rachel definitely could get used to this.  
“Would you like to open another shop in Toronto?” Rachel had to ask, this would mean taking their relationship to the next level, committing for real. Sarah almost choked on her food, she quickly drank juice and cleared her throat, “Toronto?”  
“Yes, I moved to Canada years ago; Cambridge was too distracting for me. I think you could expand your business, it’s just a suggestion.” Rachel tried to dismiss this like this was any pointless conversation, but she was nervous to get a rejection. Sarah grinned, her mischievous eyes glinting with excitement.  
“Are you asking me to move out with you?” Sarah leaned on the table, teasing the ice princess.  
“I just asked if you wanted to open a new shop.” Rachel felt so out of her territory, this teasing was not her usual battlefield, and she felt she had to clarify her point, because she was feeling foolish.  
“Yes you are Posh Bitch, and I would love to but first I need to talk with my family, yeah? So yes, I would like to expand my business.” Sarah kept grinning the rest of the morning.

During the afternoon they both went to Sarah’s place. Rachel was a bit tense to meet Mrs. S.  
Sarah smiled reassuringly and guided her inside.  
“Oi Oi Mrs. S. I brought someone to meet you.” Sarah kissed her foster mother and gave space for Rachel to come closer.  
“Rachel Duncan.” She offered her hand to the older woman.  
“Posh indeed.” Mrs. S shook her hand firmly, “so this is the girl you’ve been drooling about all this time, love?”  
“Goddamit S” Sarah was flustered, avoiding eye contact with Rachel.  
“Let’s have lunch dear.”  
Mrs. S and Sarah arranged the table, Rachel observed the family portraits on the wall, she never had family photos, once her parents died she removed everything, not a single trace of her parents, in contrast this was filled with so many pictures of Kira, since she was a baby with her mother and aunt, others with her grandmother. She felt a bit of envy, the warmth between them, it was such a contrast with the empty walls of her loft.  
“Mommy!” The little girl ran to the arms of her mother. Sarah’s face lightened, “monkey!” Sarah kissed her daughter and then met her twin Helena, “hey meathead, remember Rachel?” Helena looked not so happy when she saw the businesswoman. Helena approached carefully and hugged her, practically squeezed her and whispered “You are not going to take my sestra from me, Rachel.”  
“Oi Helena, you’re gonna kill her let go.” Sarah pulled Helena away from Rachel before she killed her; she took several deep breaths and fixed her suit.  
The four sat to eat, Rachel was pretty overwhelmed by this sensations, this was the first time she had a meal that was not for business with so many people. The camaraderie was evident, even the killer looks that Helena threw her way were welcome.  
“Thanks you for the meal Mrs. Sadler.” Rachel stood up politely and thanked the mother figure of her punk.  
“Anytime chicken.” Rachel walked towards the exit.  
Sarah walked with her and Kira, once they were outside Sarah spoke with her daughter. “Listen monkey, mommy is going to be seeing Rachel a lot. I don’t want you to feel weird with this, I mean…” Sarah was trying so hard to explain her daughter that her mom was seeing another girl, however Kira was very intuitive.  
“Is she your girlfriend mom?” Sarah almost choked, “er, well, yeah, I guess, if she wants to be of course.”  
Rachel never thought about being anyone’s girlfriend, but coming from Sarah it sounded right. “Yes, I guess I am.”  
Sarah’s lips curved, showing her white teeth, beaming like never before. Sarah walked towards Rachel and entangled her fingers with her, “Let’s go for a walk to the park first, yeah?” Kira came running towards the two of them, and to her surprise Kira didn’t took her mother’s hand but Rachel’s. The three made it to a nearby playground, where Kira went to play while Sarah and Rachel watched from a bench.  
“You know this is gonna be hard. You and me? We both are too hard headed, too stubborn and proud. We are going to hurt each other sometimes.” Sarah looked at her like she was the most precious thing in the world, it made her heart hurt so much.  
“I’m not a good woman Sarah, if Kira’s father represents a threat I will dispose of him, you know that. And if you still choose me, you have to be very stupid. As I am for choosing you. I don’t know how to translate into words or affection this tingling I feel inside of me, I’ll try nonetheless to do the best for you and your daughter.” Rachel traced Sarah’s jaw, drinking her features.  
“No need to do crazy shit Rachel. Besides, we’re both sinners. I know what I’m getting into. Just know that if this goes to hell it will go down badly, but not before I give my all. I know you’re an ice queen, it’s who you are. Just let me love you and he rest will come alone” Sarah bumped her nose and pecked her softly.  
“I will fight for us Sarah, for you and your daughter. Oh, and her as well.” Sarah was confused by that last statement when she heard the familiar accent.  
“Hello sestra, I came too.” Helena gave Rachel another killer stare.  
“Shite Helena, could you give me some time alone with my girl, please?” Sarah smacked on the shoulder her twin.  
“I will watch closely.” Helena squinted her eyes towards Rachel, her murderous intent pretty clear to the Brit.  
“I can deal with animals.” Rachel spat.  
“Oh come on Rachel, that is my twin you’re talking about.” Sarah scolded Rachel. “You two are going to drive me nuts, let’s go for a walk Ray, Helena keep an eye on Kira, yeah?” Sarah pulled Rachel closer to her and started to walk around the park.  
“Your twin is very protective, I should remind her to whom do you belong to, I mean with. Maybe leave some bite marks on your neck might send a clear message.”  
Sarah’s eyes turned dark, the promise of more nights together to come, “damn woman, you’re so fucking possessive, just don’t say something you don’t intend to fulfill later princess.”  
“Oh, I intend to.” Rachel purred, “anyway, I think you might need a new one. This one is updated with the Canada numbers.” Rachel offered a new business card to Sarah. The brunette traced the pattern of the card with her finger, like she did for the last 10 years with the old one. A new beginning, a new start, hopefully things were going to work this time around. 

This is how it was going to be, Rachel fighting for the attention of Sarah with Helena, dealing with business and taking care of Kira. Sarah opening her new repair shop in Toronto and banging Rachel against her windows, the shower or even that damn backseat. Fighting and having makeup sex or making love to the sound of 90’s slow jams. Life definitely was going to be interesting from now on. Things were going to be difficult,the future, uncertain; but Rachel was going to make sure that the woman who held her hand stood by her side until her last breath.  
Destiny had been a bitch, but Rachel didn’t mind to keep burning between the arms of Sarah Manning, not one bit.


End file.
